Beautifully Broken
by TheMadOnes4
Summary: Successful photographer, Bella Swan, gets the job she's been yearning for as A-list actor Edward Cullen's photographer. But, Edward and Bella soon realize they're connected in the most unexpected way. They're beautifully broken.
1. The Meeting

**Beautifully Broken**

Chapter 1: First Impressions

 **Hi loves!**

 **This is the first fanfic I've written and I already have some chapters pre-written that I can post if you guys want more.**

 **I think you can understand from this chapter that there is a lot more to Bella than we know right now... and maybe even more to Edward too?**

 **Let me know if you want more and I'll continue to post. I think it'll be worth it ;)**

 **There's a crazy, funny road ahead for these two filled with life's emotions: pain, anger, regret, and love.**

 **Talk soon?**

 **xx, S**

 _ **I do NOT own Twilight, all the creds to Ms. Stephanie Meyer.**_

Right when the phone picked up, I knew I was about to brace a huge storm and the only way to get out was to go through it.

"Oh my god tell me everything." my insanely nosy sister yells into the phone far too loudly for 10am.

"Nothing much to say…."

"Bullshit. You have to tell me every single detail about him. Any tattoos? How tall is he? Oh, shit, please tell me how long his fingers are becaus-"

"HEY!" screamed Emmett, my sister's husband.

I hear them bicker in the background and her yell at him "What? A girl can dream."

"Not around me…" retorted Emmett.

"What the fuck ever," Rosalie says getting back to the topic at hand. "so, do you think you got the job?"

To be honest, I didn't know how to answer that question. Although I do believe the odds are in my favor, I don't want to get too worked up about it and _especially_ don't want my sister getting too excited because that shit never turns out well. So, I decide to play it safe and stick to blunt and concise and purposefully leave out the part about me losing my temper. Now that I'm remembering _that_ part of the meeting, I realize that the odds are definitely not in my favor considering I let my mouth take control of my head and pretty much unleashed on the nasty-bitch assistant. Yeah, I pretty ruined all my chances.

"Don't know. I saw him for probably one minute. I spent most of the time with his manager and agent. One of them was a bitch to be honest but the other was sweet. They seemed like they were interested in my work but you never know with those people—they can plaster on a fake face perfectly. They could've hated it but I don't really care, it's not the end of the world if I don't get the job. I don't give a shit, to be honest." I say.

Before another word can escape my mouth, my sister cuts me off. Even through the phone she can hear the bullshit in my voice as I stated the previous two sentences about not giving a shit about the job. _Yeah, I've got to work on my lying skills_.

"Look. You're my little sister and ever since you came out of the womb you have always felt this need to have a "I'm-a-badass-and-I-don't-give-a-shit-attitude" but I know that that isn't always true."

"But—"

"HEY," she yells putting me in my place and cutting me off once again.

"Let me finish, Swan. As much as you want to deny that it's the truth, just seeing your reaction and your eyes light up when Emmett told you that he got you an interview to be Edward Cullen's personal photographer told me everything I needed to know. The passion oozed out of you and you were determined, excited. But then, being typical Bella, you had to put back on that damn mask of yours and act all chill and act like it wasn't a big deal. Now I don't know if this mask of yours is a defense mechanism or something that you use to avoid getting hurt, but Bella, I could obviously see that you were about to start bouncing off the walls when he told you. I want to see that. Just let loose a little. It really can't hurt you."

Taking in her words, I see that she is speaking some truth here. I never really allowed myself to show too much emotion because deep emotion means expression, and once people see what you really feel, then you've let them in. So, it was a logical thing for me to do. I never got too excited if I aced a test or got asked out by my crush, because shit like that doesn't always happen.

When people get too expectant about good things coming their way, they are always in store for disappointment.

This, I know for a fact.

Rose has always been my rock. Since we were little girls, we were opposites but we were the kind that drifted together and not apart. In high school, she was the cheerleader and social butterfly while I was more under the radar. I had plenty of friends, for sure, but I wasn't as active in the whole scene; you could've categorized me as a wallflower. Instead of going to pep rallies or sports games, I was the girl that went for a surf alone to clear my head. I was never one of the loner types; I was friends with many of the football players and so called "popular" kids but they knew they shouldn't expect to see me at all of their parties. I wasn't too committed to any crowd or person, and I liked it that way. It was safe.

Remembering what Rosalie said to me before, I finally try and verbalize the excitement that has been bubbling inside of me since the interview.

"I really want this job, Rose." I said with a quiet, soft voice almost as if I was afraid somebody was going to hear me.

 _Wow. That was all I could come up with. Good one, Swan._

As if she could read my thoughts, she replies.

"I know, Bella, and it is okay to acknowledge that. It's okay to be excited, and I know it was hard to figure out how to express that and I'm proud that you did, even though it was a wimpy statement, to be honest. Just remember you don't always have to act so nonchalant about everything."

Growing up, I always thought that showing reactions to things was…weak. I never cried in movies, I never jumped up and down when I had my first kiss; I never did any of that. I felt like it kept me mysterious, it kept people wondering about my story and who I was. Most importantly, it made people know that they couldn't hurt me because when you get hurt, it's always because you put a dependence on something (or someone) and your expectations were let down.

My one weakness though was laughing. I can't help but laugh at every situation. People kind of know me as that: the girl who never cries but laughs her ass off at even the most terrible jokes. This habit still goes on within me even though I am 24 years old.

Anyways, when Emmett told me that he got me an interview with Edward Cullen, the world's largest actor and may I say sexiest man you have ever laid eyes on, I was ecstatic. I felt like running around the house screaming my head off and dancing on the kitchen counters but instead I just sat back in Emmett and Rosalie's sofa and said,

"Cool. Thanks, dude."

Of course, Rosalie rolled her eyes at my unanimated behavior, but I didn't want to be one of those girls who starts fangirling and jumping up and down clapping her hands. I've never liked those kind of people; they annoy the shit out of me.

After a moment of silence between us, I decided to finally tell Rosalie about the _real_ reason why she called me.

"So you know that whole sex hair theory about Edward…?"

"Mhmmmmmm…."

"It's totally true." I said right before I broke into a fit of giggles. It actually felt good to get excited over girly stuff.

"AGH stop you're killing me. You've got to tell me more."

"Well, when he walked in he was wearing the most fuckable outfit on the goddamn planet."

"Hold on. I'm going to need to get away from Emmett and go outside if I want to listen to this properly. He'd go all apeman jealous if he heard the reaction I am about to have." Rose said with a whisper and a few giggles.

"Alright. Keep going." She says after a few seconds.

"He walked in with a golden tan and tight white V-neck that defined every muscle of his and he wore tan brown pants with these adorable hipster sort of combat/oxford boots."

I swear, I don't think I have ever laughed as much as when I heard the deep moan that came out of my sister's mouth when I told her that.

"Fucking Christ, Bella!"

Rosalie joins me in my laughing fit and chuckles along with me.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No, he just quickly walked in, looked at a few photographs, glanced at me, and then whispered something to his manager and left."

"Is it just me or is that kind of creeperish weird."

"It's not just you. I swear, Rose, the way he looked at me was bizzare… Like he was a deer caught in the headlights. It sent a chill down my spine."

"A good chill or a creepy chill?"

I though about the question for a second before I answered honestly. "I really don't know."

I don't know what made me feel like that. I bet if anybody saw the way the way he looked at me, they would tell me to run for the hills, but for some reason I wasn't scared.

At all.

"Your pictures are incredible, Bella. There is no way that those Hollywood kiss-ups were not impressed with your work. They may be too stubborn to admit it, but I just know they loved it."

"Okay, Raven, enough with you psychic visions."

"You know you love them."

"That I do, dear sister. I'll call you later. Tell Emmett thank you again and that I love him."

"Will do."

"Bye, love."

As I am pulling into the parking garage, I press end on my iPhone screen and slump back in the seat of my black Audi R8, otherwise known as my child and prized possession. _Yeah. I had worked hard for this girl and people must be dreaming if they think they're putting their hands on her wheel._ _ **Mine.**_

With an exhausted groan, I get out of the car and retrieve the bags of groceries from my previous Whole Foods run. It had been a long day of stress, anticipation, excitement, and anxiety. I was confident with my work, sure, but I will admit that putting those pictures in front of those big-shot managers and agents scared the shit out of me. You could see the judgment in their eyes, and the worst part was that you couldn't tell if it was a good or bad judgment.

I started photographing when I was 20. Rosalie had just met Emmett, who was an up-and-coming musician; Rose was 23 and Emmett was 27. Rosalie had been one of his followers and she went to his shows when he was in town and eventually, much to Rosalie's excitement, he asked her out and they dated for a few years. Emmett wasn't one of those "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" types. He was quiet, calm, and extremely devoted to his music, not fame. He honestly was the perfect person for her, and her and Emmett were like two lovesick sixteen year olds all the time.

Even I will admit it's cute as hell.

I first met him when he and Rose came to visit me at USC where I went to college. When I asked about what he did for a living, I saw his raw passion for music spark in his eyes. This suddenly made me want to have a passion like his; something I looked forward to do and made me truly happy. I told my mom this when I was driving back to my apartment after meeting Emmett that day. She told me she was going to ship her old Canon film camera, and advised me to go shoot around LA and see how I liked photography.

I was reluctant at first because I had no clue about how to photograph, but I finally gave in and went to the Santa Monica Pier to take pictures. Six hours later, I returned home with a myriad of used film and a newfound passion. I continued to shoot around the community for a year or so and I even bought a really nice digital SLR camera. After I volunteered to photograph for a local music festival, I found that I really loved photographing people doing their job. From that, I knew that I wanted to be a photographer for actors and singers.

Today, I've shot some of the biggest names in the industry, make a _very_ good living, and have my own studio and staff. You can only imagine the smug smile my mom gets when she talks about my photography and how "she was the reason for my success" which is actually true; if she had never sent that camera that day, I wouldn't be where I am.

Right around the time I was graduating, Emmett got his big break and he got his song in a major movie franchise. He was blowing up, and he now has a huge and devoted fanbase. His agency advised him to set up accounts with all the major social media outlets, and they told him to post pictures of his everyday life to keep fans updated. It sounded easy enough, just take pictures of what you're doing and post it on Instagram or Twitter and boom, you have happy fans. This strategy worked for about a week or so until people became uninterested. The fans wanted pictures of _him_ doing these everyday activities. They didn't care about what he was doing, just seeing him do it. This obviously posed a problem for Emmett because he didn't have anybody to be behind the camera. Also, he was going and playing all these gigs and all the pictures he had were fans' shitty iPhone pictures scattered around his twitter feed.

At the time, I was struggling to find work so he then had the idea of hiring me as his personal photographer. Rosalie obviously couldn't do it because whenever she tries to take a picture she either takes a video or takes a picture of the floor, not the subject. I immediately accepted his offer, for this was the perfect opportunity to do what I love while also getting my name out there. My job was to photograph Emmett whenever I was around him, which was most of the time. My goal was to be able to show fans that Emmett is no different than they are, just a person with a dream and living a semi-normal life.

While working for Emmett, I got incredible opportunities and pretty soon my inbox was full with agents requesting that they photograph their clients. I eventually had to stop working for Emmett because of the amount of jobs I was getting, and he totally understood because the purpose of this job was pretty much to get me on my feet.

These various jobs kept me happy until I noticed that I didn't want the spontaneity of the jobs. I found myself getting an offer, taking it, flying to wherever this person was, photographing them for a gig or two, and then flying back home the next day. It was exhausting and I was tired of it; I wanted a stable home and job where I stuck with one client instead of a new one everyday. I wanted to work for Emmett again, but at the level I was at now, the pay was not enough. Emmett knew about this considering I would always come home to him and cry on his shoulder while engulfing pints of ice cream while crying about how much I hated my job and how I didn't know what to do.

One night, while I was spinning myself into a tizzy, he told me that his friend knew Edward Cullen, world famous actor and heartthrob, and he was looking for a personal photographer. I was pretty much going to do for him what I did for Emmett; document his life and keep his fans updated with pictures and photograph him at work. The pay was incredibly generous, the hours were reasonable, and it was exactly what I wanted.

And so, that is how I ended up this morning sitting in an modern, top-of-the-line Hollywood office waiting to be called in so Edward's team could see if I would be the right fit for him. I was bouncing my leg and gnawing on my lip, both of which were things I did when I was nervous. I suddenly because very subconscious about my outfit, was it too flashy? I was wearing a white shirt that seemed basic from the front but twisted in the back and showed off most of my back. I wore my favorite Adriano Goldschmied white skinny jeans with metallic silver pumps and my hair in its natural, messy beachy waves, pulled away from my face from my Ray Bans that sat on top of my head. I liked my outfit when I got dressed this morning, it was clean, put together, but it still had my touch to it. But now, sitting in this office, it seemed so wrong. The jeans seemed inappropriately tight, the back of my shirt too low, and my heels too high.

I was five seconds away from making a run for it and crying in my car, but then a stunning, tall, olive skinned woman dressed in the most beautiful pencil skirt called my name. Gripping my portfolio, I got up and shook the woman's hand, amazed by her striking exotic features.

"Hello, I'm Zafrina, Edward's agent. Please, come in and take a seat." She says with a cold tone and slight accent that I can't recognize off the top of my head. Politely, I introduced myself and walked into her office to see another man waiting in there. He stood up and approached me with his hand out and a gentle smile on his face. "I'm Riley, Edward's manager. Wonderful to meet you."

"Likewise," I say as I take a seat.

Riley and Zafrina are sitting on the modern, white leather couch across from me watching me take out my pictures and lay them on the glass table between us. As I start to lay them out, I start to explain my experience, how I have worked with many actors and musicians, blah, blah, blah.

About 30 seconds into my spiel, I am unexpectedly cut off by Zafrina.

"Ms. Swan, I have read your resume. I know the work that you've done. Now, all I need is for you to answer one question for me. What makes you think that you're cut out for this job?"

Taken back by her blunt and very rude comment, I wait a second before I answer. Putting on a sweet smile, I start laying down the line classic Bella-style.

"Well, Zafrina, I have a good knowledge about this industry and the people who work in it. I know how these people think, how they operate, what they want to see, and what they don't want to see. I know that it is all smoke and mirrors and that everybody is screwing somebody over whether they know it or not. I've seen it happen thousands of times. So, if I get this job not only would I be Edward's photographer, but also his protector. I would protect him from the oh-so many traps in this corrupt town. I would be the person he could trust, since it is obvious that it is hard to find those kinds of people in Hollywood nowadays. So, yes, I do think I am cut out for this job because not only will I take the pictures of Edward that people actually want to see, but I also will protect him from the bottom feeder insects of this wonderful place we like to call Hollywood."

After that, the whole room is silent until I hear an intake of breath from behind me.

Startled, I see none other than Edward Cullen in all his glory leaning against the doorframe behind me, staring at me with a look I cannot describe.

Hatred? Confusion? Astonishment? I can't tell.

Right then, he walks over to the glass table, puts his hands in his pockets and examines my pictures while I am frozen in shock. As he is looking at my pictures, I see his perfectly messy golden brown hair on his head and the light stubble on his face. His outfit is right out of every girl's fantasy and while studying him, I can honestly say that I am unable to find any flaws. All too soon, he stands up straight, whispers something into Riley's ear and walks out.

Holy. Shit.

I'm going to have a really hard time working if I have to work around that creature 24/7. I now know what People Magazine meant when they named him the "Sexiest Man Alive".

Zafrina pulls me back from my hormonal teenage moment and tells me that we are done with the interview and storms out of the room with Riley trialing behind her. I pick up my stuff, pull my glasses off my head and on to my face, and walk out the door fuming from Zafrina's attitude but also amazed at Edward's surprise appearance.

Usually when I'm working for an actor or singer, the closest I get to them is their manager and the celebrity won't even glance my way. So, that's why I was so shocked to see that Edward was there and I was only at the interview stage. As I am about to walk out, I hear Riley yell my name. I freeze, preparing myself to be screamed at for pretty much calling him and Zafrina "bottom feeding insects".

Riley catches up to me and I internally flinch, scared for my life. "What you did in there…."

 _Oh shit, here it comes_

"Was absolutely incredible."

I jolt my head up and look at him in surprise.

"What?"

"Zafrina's a bitch and she needed to be told that, so thank you. We'll speak to you soon."

And just like that, Riley walks back to his office and I stand in the middle of the agency with my jaw on the floor and a completely puzzled expression on my face. The giggle clearly came from the receptionist across the room and the look of amusement on her face about my reaction said it all. When the elevator arrives, I start to head out to my car utterly confused and turned on as hell by the man who I never even spoke a word to.

 _Damn. I need a drink._


	2. Trial and Error

**Happy Friday, loves!**

 **Thank you to all the people who followed, liked, reviewed, etc. It was like Christmas morning every time I saw there was a new review, so thank you :)**

 **Here's chapter 2. It's a short one; but it is the start of Edward and Bella's journey so it's quite exciting! We also get a bit of EPOV in this chapter too ;)**

 **For the beginning of the story, we'll mostly be more involved in Bella's life rather than Edwards but we will learn more about him as the story goes on. Trust me, there is more EPOV to come! Right now I want to explore Bella's mind first.**

 **ALL VISUALS ARE LINKED IN MY PROFILE. For those of you who haven't used visuals with a fanfiction before, it's basically pictures that go along with the story and are the ones I use when I am visualizing the story. I've seen it done with other fanfictions and I really love it.**

 **I'm linking a pic of Edward's house and Bella's outfit. There should be links to the visuals for chapter one, too!**

 **Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'll be updating soon because I have a long weekend! WOO HOO!**

 **xx, S**

BPOV

"Hello?" I say with a sluggish voice to the unknown person on the other end of the line. I glance at the clock and it says 6:30am. That shit was just too early; whoever was calling at this hour was about to get an earful.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you got a trial run tomorrow. 11am sharp."

I wasn't sure if I was still lethargic since I had just woken up five seconds ago to my phone ringing and I misheard her, or maybe Zafrina had actually just said that. Within a split second I snap out of my fog and suddenly becoming very awake.

"Yes, of course see you then."

"Yeah. Whatever." She says as she ends the call quite abruptly.

I don't get it. Did I really just hear that I have a trial run with Edward tomorrow? I thought that after my whole blowup, I was banished from that office. I mean, even though Zafrina's cocky attitude drove me up a wall, I still didn't have any right to react the way I did.

But, I will admit I did love hearing her annoyance in her voice when she told me I got a trial. Now that I will most definitely not be able to fall back asleep, I stumble out of bed to go for a run and get ready for the day.

EPOV

"Hello?" I say into the phone while I step out of my trailer and head over to the catering tent for more coffee.

"You have a 11 AM appointment with a possible photographer for you tomorrow morning. She'll just be taking pictures of you and we'll determine if they're good enough and if you want to hire her."

"What?" I say, shocked and irritated to say the least. "Zafrina, you know tomorrow's my only day off in days and a work appointment is not exactly how I pictured spending it."

"Sorry, Edward. We need to find someone soon and tomorrow works for her so it's happening."

Damn she can be a cold bitch sometimes.

I huff in annoyance, knowing that she's right and I can't really fight what she's saying.

"What's this dude's name anyways?"

"Well _her_ name is Bella Swan and I have to warn you she isn't the most respectful person."

Holy shit. She must've been the hot girl who was in the office the other day. Now tomorrow's looking a whole lot better.

"Oh, I remember her," I saw with a playful tone, "I look forward to seeing her tomorrow."

"Perv."

Chucking, I end the call a whole lot happier than I was when I picked it up.

BPOV

After getting my coffee, I quickly throw on my black skinny jeans, a white tank top, sunglasses, a hat, and grab my equipment. Since this is a trial run where Edward is supposed to get to know my style and the kind of photographer I am, I decide to take my film camera. It was the one my mom gave to me when she coaxed me into starting photography, so I thought I should use the same camera that got me where I am. It was like an ode to my old Canon film camera that I really owe my success to (and my mom, of course). I jump in the car and punch in the address that Zafrina emailed to me in my GPS. After a fifteen-minute drive, I am approaching Edward's house.

Suddenly, I start to get extremely nervous and regret coming here, which is not typical for me. When I think my panicking couldn't get worse, I realize that I am on Edward's street. "321… 321…" I think out loud as I search for his house frantically, I am at 318.

Oh shit I'm starting to sweat. Perfect.

 _Why am I getting so nervous about this? I've done these with so many celebrities countless times. I need to relax._

Finally, I see his house and it's quite impressive. Very modern and open; it's an even mix of windows and wood and it is very geometric and beautifully designed. As a matter of fact, it looks quite similar to my house. Even though it is so open with all its windows looking in, it's mysterious. I laugh at myself because the words I just used to describe Edward's house are the same words that people use to describe me.

I turn off the car, and walk up the gravel driveway carrying my camera bag. I place the one bag down and knock on the door, waiting for somebody to answer while I play with the rings on my finger. The nervous feeling I had a few minutes ago is now gone; I feel… at ease. As soon as I tell myself that I am going to survive, Edward opens the door and I am suddenly floored with nerves once again, this time worst than the last. He is wearing light grey pants that fit him perfectly and a navy blue v-neck and barefoot.

 _Dear Jesus help me._

"Hey," I say sticking out my hand, "I'm Bella." It now becomes awkward, because by now I have been holding out my hand for about three seconds too long.

"Oh. Um. Shit. Sorry." Edward says, clearly distraught, shaking my hand.

When Edward gripped my hand, giving it a firm shake, there was a foreign feeling in the pit of my stomach, like something changed inside of me.

 _Must be indigestion or something_.

I then release Edward's hand, pick up my camera bag, and walk through the door.

 _Here goes nothing._


	3. Trust

**I'm back!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed that short chapter. I figured because it was short, I would treat you guys and post another :)**

 **All visuals needed for this chapter have already been posted under chapter 2. Check them out if you haven't already!**

 **You get all EPOV this chapter, you lucky ladies ;)**

 **He may seem like an ass at first, but he's an ass that we love.**

 **Plus, we finally find out where Bella's from.**

 **Enjoy! See you at the end.**

 **REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

EPOV

With my script in one hand and some water in another, I flop down on the couch and finally take a deep breath.

Simply put, this week has been hell. I've been on set all week working obscene hours on my new movie, _Scarlet._ I'm the lead actor and therefore I am working all the time, especially recently.

I've done long hours on movies before, but from the mixture of the acting and the fight training, I'm exhausted.

So, lets just say this day off is not going to go unappreciated.

Glancing at the clock, I realize the photographer should be here in 15 minutes.

I would be lying if I said I didn't want to sleep with her; I am a male, after all. I head into the bathroom and throw some stuff in my hair to make it stay how I (and girls) like it and take a look in the mirror.

 _Yeah, I'd do me._

Right then, I hear a knock on the door.

 _It's showtime, Cullen._

I take one last look at myself, put on the crooked grin that has girls at their knees, and head to the door.

Right when I open up the door and see her up close, everything goes to shit.

This girl was beautiful.

Suddenly, I feel like I'm picking up my first date back in middle school and I am positive that I'm going to shit my pants.

For all I know, I am probably looking at her like she has three heads.

She has gorgeous, tanned skin like she just walked off the beach and these eyes that are the first thing you notice when you look at her. They're a vibrant green that light up her whole face and hypnotize you with just one look. She was wearing a grey fedora on top of her gorgeous wavy brunette hair that hits her mid back and looks effortless but also like it's professionally done at the same time.

 _Oh shit._

As I look down slightly, I realize she's wearing a thin, loose tank top that slightly reveals a sliver of her tanned stomach and hipbones paired with fuck-hot black skinny jeans. Her fingers are stacked with rings and her wrists are filled with cool jewelry that definitely is not from America.

How the hell am I supposed to be around her if this is what she is wearing?

My trance is interrupted all too soon, though, when I realize that Bella's been holding out her hand the whole time and probably thinks I don't function properly or something.

 _Just be your smooth, charming self and everything will be fine._

"Oh. Um. Shit. Sorry." I say, returning her handshake.

 _Smooth and charming my ass._

When our hands meet, though, something weird happens inside of me. It's like a lightning bolt hit my gut, and I don't know what's wrong with me. Ignoring the thought, I step aside and motion for her to come in.

"Oh, um, you can set up your lighting and equipment and stuff wherever." I say, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

 _You idiot. This girl walked into your house 15 seconds ago, and you can't even formulate a normal sentence._

"I don't need to." Bella replies matter-of-factly.

 _Is that an accent?_

"What?" I say, confused.

I have done more photoshoots than I can even count, and every single photographer needs at least 30 minutes to make sure all the lights and other photography stuff that I can't even pronounce is in the perfect place.

"Lighting's overrated. All that fancy equipment that photographers use is a distraction from the fact that they can't really photograph. If you have smoke, mirrors, and lighting, anybody can take a good picture. You see, I photograph with purpose. My purpose is to break through this Hollywood mask that you put on whenever you meet someone 'in the industry'" Bella says with air quotes.

Still confused, my eyebrows instinctively knit together in questioning.

 _Wait, is this woman calling me fake?_

I review what she had just said, and come to the conclusion that she most definitely passive-aggressively called me fake. I would typically fire anybody who would say that comment, but what she said was different. She didn't say it in a rude way; she said it almost sympathetically.

Then again, everything about Bella is different. I'm surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous celebrities 24/7 and am able to keep my dick under control, yet with Bella, I only saw her for 30 seconds in a damn interview and since then, I've been like a horny fifteen year old.

The woman drives me crazy already; she has incredible, almost exotic, features, completely natural beauty that doesn't deserve a stitch of makeup, a toned body but not one that you see on the unattractively-skinny supermodels, and my god she has the greatest rack and ass I've seen on anybody.

 _Yeah, any male would kill to have her._

I didn't even speak to the woman when I first saw her in her interview, either. To be honest, it's probably a good thing that I didn't speak to her, because I was right.

 _She has a motherfucking accent._

 _An Australian one, mind you, that is most definitely the hottest thing I've heard in my 25 years of living._

If I had heard her speak in that interview, then I would've most definitely jumped her right on the glass coffee table on top of her photographs and lets just say that wouldn't have been the best thing for my managers to see.

While I was busy trying to make sure my dick doesn't come alive, Bella had clearly sensed my distaste with her comment a few moments ago.

"Oh, don't worry, it's by instinct. All actors or singers develop it. Hell, if you didn't put on your mask in this town you wouldn't even be in this town. You'd be banished like the girl in… what's that movie? Shit, I forgot the name. Anyways, don't be offended. I'm just trying to let you know that you can be yourself with me." She says as she fiddles around setting up her camera.

The girl was obviously rebellious in spirit. You could just tell by the way she rambled and swore in front of her boss.

 _Wow, ballsy._

 _Balls, Bella, balls, sex…_

 _Shit, Cullen, get back on track and control your damn sexual urges._

"So, how do you want me to pose, or…" I say to try and bury my train of thought and focus on the task at hand.

"Nope, no posing with me." She says abruptly while burying her head into her bag.

"What?" _Was this girl even a real photographer? No posing? No lights? Shit, is she a crazy stalker posing as a photographer to get with me? Fuck, should I call security?_

"I told you my purpose when I photograph, and in my opinion, posing is quite opposite my purpose." She says, lifting her eyebrow.

 _Damn, is this woman trying to kill me?_

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." I say like the idiot I am.

 _Where did the suave, cool Edward go?_

Of course she was a fucking photographer, if she was like the other stalkers I've encountered, her shirt would already be off and she would've already begged me to sign her boobs.

 _Not that I would mind…_

For once, I'm actually excited to do a photoshoot. I hate posing for pictures; it all just feels so fake and even though I might generate great pictures, I secretly hate doing it. While Bella sets up her camera with her back turned, I get to finally get a good look at her. Bella's personality shines through every pore in her body, which makes her even more beautiful and radiant. You can tell she is confident, but she doesn't show it in an arrogant way at all; her confidence is in the way she stands, the way she speaks, the way she moves, and it was incredibly intriguing. She was perfectly elegant but not prudish, and had amazing style: bohemian, effortless, but perfectly put together. As a guy, I don't usually notice that shit, but with Bella, it slaps you right in the face when you first see her. She's gorgeous, of course, but the girl has impeccable style that's most likely effortless on her part, but looks like it took her hours to put together.

"Alright my friend, take a seat." She says, breaking my oogling. She takes out a vintage-looking film camera while grabbing a chair and straddling it, facing me.

 _Yup, my dick just woke up. Now all I can do is pray that it doesn't show up in the photos._

I sit down, and to my surprise Bella, puts her camera on the floor.

"Aren't you going to photograph me?" I ask confused, glancing at the camera.

"What?" she says, not sure what I'm talking about. With a flash of realization, she continues, "Oh, yeah, but not just yet."

Just as I am about to question her more, she cuts me off.

 _Damn,_ _this woman really doesn't take shit from anybody, but neither do I. This should be interesting._

"What angers you the most?" She says out of the blue.

"Well that's quite a personal question." I say, taken back and slightly offended by her invasive question. As much as I liked the girl, I wasn't going to let her take personal information and sell it to rags. "Look," I continue. "I'm fully aware that any piece of information can be sold for a lot of money to rags, but I'm not open to giving up pieces of my private life for prof-"

"I have a question." She says, cutting me off with a fierce look in her eyes.

 _Who the fuck does this girl think she is? As hot as she was, she was pissing me off._

"Do you _really_ think that after all I told you about how I despise the backstabbing and fake lifestyle of Hollywood, that I would go to TMZ and leak that you wear briefs, not boxers?" She says motioning with her eyes to the Calvin Klien waistband that was peeking out of my grey jeans.

"Edward, if I am going to talk to somebody, I want to know the _real_ them, not the artificial personality that we all instill in ourselves whenever meeting someone new. And again, don't be offended. We all have one whether we like it or not. Now, if we're going to continue this relationship, then we're going to need to have trust. You're going to have to trust that I'm on _your_ side and am not going to screw you over. I understand that pretty much from this town always has an ulterior motive and everybody's screwing everybody over, but I'm not from this town, Edward, and I'm not that kind of person." She says, staring at me, her eyes begging for me to understand.

After a few moments of understanding that she may be a friend, not an enemy, I respond.

"Australia." I say, responding to her comment about not being from this town with a smirk as I look up at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Bingo." She says with her fuckhot accent, smiling back at me.

"Well, let's throw the shrimp on the barbie, mate!" I say with a giggle and an Australian accent that I absolutely butchered.

Suddenly, Bella explodes into a fit of laughter that is like nectar to my ears and I can't help but laugh along with her as all the tension that was in the room dissolves in an instant.

 _I could listen to her giggle for hours._

While regaining her breath, she tries to formulate a sentence between her giggles.

"You did the worst Australian accent I've ever heard," she says, still giggling at my ridiculousness and I continue to laugh with her, clutching my stomach.

"You know we actually don't say shrimp so that cliché Aussie phrase is actually kinda bullshit?" She continues.

"What? Please don't tell me this is true because if you do then I'm going to have to question everything I've ever known."

"Sorry, but we say prawn, not shrimp."

Gasping in mock shock, I stare back at her for a few seconds, and her eyes meet mine.

"Promise you won't fuck me over, Swan?" I say after we've both quieted down our laughter.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Cullen."

"So, what angers you the most?" Bella starts once we've both visibly relaxed after we came to a somewhat "truce".

"I guess single-mindedness. Especially in this industry; everybody's so focused on their own personal success, that they will openly betray the ones closest to them. I feel like everybody has a knife to your back and is waiting to stab you, and the only way you can keep your head above the water is to unfortunately have your knife pointed at someone else's back. It feels like I'm living out Lord of the Flies; you have to be savage to survive."

"Who are you thinking of?" Bella asks.

"What do you mean?"

"When you answered, you were thinking of somebody" She says, leaning forward slightly, her eyes boring into mine, begging for an answer.

"Why do you care?" I ask, not in a rude way, but because I'm genuinely interested, as I lean in towards her too.

"Because we all deserve someone who cares, and from what you said, I think that the world you live in lacks those kinds of people."

"You could say that again." I say, agreeing with her, glancing down at my wood floor.

"So, who was it?"

When she brings back the question, his face unfortunately pops back into my mind and I think about him again.

But worst of all, I think of her. My mind betrays me as snippets of the day reenter my head after years of trying to bury them.

 _Auburn hair, early 20s, warm smile, deeply loved._

 _shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP, Cullen. Not fucking now._

I don't know how to answer Bella; I want to give Bella an answer, but I know I can't give an honest one.

I guess I was so busy thinking about him and her, that I didn't realize that Bella had picked up her camera and it wasn't until I heard the click of the shutter that I noticed.

"What did you do?" I asked, completely puzzled.

"I took a picture," She says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You do know that I'm a photographer, right?"

"Yeah, um, sorry. I guess I wasn't prepared." I say suddenly insecure, rubbing the back of my neck and looking down once again.

 _I can't believe you allowed yourself to think about them and that day in front somebody else. Idiot._

"You have restated my purpose. I didn't want you to be prepared. Whenever humans sense a camera around them, we subconsciously try and fix our flaws. For some people, that means sucking in their stomach or maybe putting on a small smile even if they are deeply sad. But when I asked you who you were thinking about, you expressed _real_ emotion. I don't care how good of an actor you are, you can't fake the look of true hurt. The kind that drills a hole into you and lights everything on fire, the kind that makes you feel lost inside. Don't be too hard on yourself; everybody has something that can reveal that side of us." _Damn, was this girl a genius profiler or something? She is speaking my every thought and belief._

Bella then leans forward and catches me off guard by placing her small fingers on my forehead and does that thing again where she bores her eyes into me, her nose only inches from mine.

"Do feel these lines?" She asks softly, very slowly tracing them with her finger.

"These represent the times of angst and chaos that we experience in life. These lines appear when we live in those moments, or reflect back on those moments. They make up who we are as human beings, but for some reason, in this goddamn world, we are expected to erase these lines and act as thought they don't exist. I mean, look at the billboards of those plastic models all around the boulevard. The people have no _lines_. They all are photoshopped away and are categorized as an insecurity when they really aren't. Because if you ask me, without these lines…" she starts to trace them once again. "we'd all be lifeless rocks."

She slowly removes her hand but her eyes never leave mine. The second she removed her hand, I wanted to pick it up and put it back. Her skin coming in contact with mine felt good, comfortable; it felt like home. And now I miss that feeling, I miss her touch. We just sit there, staring into each other's eyes; I just cannot figure this woman out. She is incredibly outgoing, a free spirit, so to speak, but her openness is mysterious. Just looking at her, I know that she is broken inside; she has a broken soul.

"Beautifully broken…" I think.

"What?" She says, her voice almost at a whisper.

Did I just say that out loud?

 _Shit, how do I talk myself out of this one?_

The usual Edward Cullen would just play it off and make up some excuse as to why that was said with some sexual innuendo. But this time, I realize that this person isn't worth it; I promised her trust and honesty and I was going to give it to her. She doesn't deserve the arrogant, cocky Edward, she deserves the real me: a guy who is sensitive and _enjoys_ having a deep conversation with somebody.

With all my guards down, I continue honestly, "That's what you are. Beautifully broken."

"And how do you know that, Edward?" she says as she cocks her head to one side.

"It's written in your lines." I say with a gentle smile.

It isn't until now that I realize our closeness, but I know we don't want to move.

"You know you're the first person to say that to me." She says, glancing down. This isn't the Bella I just met, this girl is shy, fragile, and broken.

"So does that make it true or false?" I say, my voice a mere whisper.

Bella stares at me for a while and I can't read what she's thinking. She turns to her left and glances at the window then proceeds to slowly stand up, holding her camera. She calmly packs up and we don't say a word to each other. We both are in very deep thought, but the silence is comfortable; we both know that something happened over in those chairs, and I have no clue what it was, but I liked it.

I can only hope she liked it too.

Bella inhales and slowly walks towards the floor to ceiling window with her hands in her pockets.

After a few moments, she breaks the calm silence between us.

"The think with broken clocks is you can always tell exactly when they stopped ticking. With people it isn't so easy and sometimes you can't even tell they're broken." She recites.

Still sitting in my chair across the room, I sit and I digest that quote for a few seconds before I ask her once again, "So, is that a true or false?"

Bella turns her head slightly and stares at me, and the sides of her mouth turn up ever so slightly. Not speaking, she walks over and picks up her bag. As she walks towards the door, for a second I think that she's going to leave me with no answer, like the mystery she is. But instead, right before she turns the doorknob, she turns around, winks at me, and walks out as the door softly clicks behind her.

And there I am, sitting in my living room with my mind filled with questions about a girl that I obviously know absolutely nothing about. I sit and I try and analyze every word she spoke, looking for answers to this mystery named Bella. As I sit and think about this woman, I soon realize that I cannot do this job without her. Everything about her intrigues me, and when she said that she cared, I truly believed her. The kindness in her face is rare, and she is so different from any other person I have ever met. It was then that I realized that I wanted her to be a part of my team, so I pick up my phone and dial.

"Zafrina? Yeah, I just finished up with Bella Swan. She's hired."

 **Woo hoo! SHE'S OFFICIALLY HIRED!**

 **Hope this chapter lived up to expectations.**

 **I'm sorry to leave you with so many questions.**

 **What happened to Bella? Who is the girl Edward can't stop thinking about? What about the man, too? What does the picture look like? Will they ever have the courage to open up?**

 **You'll just have to read on and see ;)**

 **You know you love me.**

 **REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE**

 **xx**


	4. A Special Delivery

**Hi hi!**

 **Sorry this one's short but I wanted a quick introduction to Edward's family so I thought this was important.**

 **Let me know what you think and REVIEW!**

 **As always, links are in my profile so you can see what I had in mind for what the characters look like :)**

 **REVIEW!**

"Holy. Shit."

"Alice! Language!" Esme said, snapping her head towards her daughter, giving her a stern look.

Alice Cullen didn't even bother apologizing to her mother and her family. Instead, she lifted her finger and pointed to a farmed picture in the corner of the room, resting against the wall waiting to be hung.

As a whole, Edward's mother, father, sister, and brother-in-law shift their gaze to the corner of the room, following Alice's finger. The room goes silent and everybody is speechless at the picture that rests only a few feet away. Since becoming a world famous actor and heartthrob, Edward Cullen had been photographed countless times. Occasionally, there would be a really good picture that everyone admired, and they all considered it the best until another great one was taken. Now, looking at the striking portrait of Edward that stood alone resting against the wall in the dining room, all of those pictures that were once seen as the best suddenly evaporated and were seen as irrelevant. The family had never seen Edward so vulnerable, bare, and stripped of the walls that so often guarded him. Carlisle, Edward's dad, breaks up the moment of silence and laughs, saying to himself, "I get it, Riley," in a low whisper.

Everybody was too consumed by the photograph to comprehend and question what he just said. Everybody's eyes shift towards Esme as they hear the click of her heel as she takes a step forward towards the photo. Slowly, she approaches the picture almost like it's a precious artifact that should never be broken. She reaches out her hand, and ever so gently touches her beloved son's forehead.

"He looks… human." She says softly enough for her family to her.

Right then, Edward walked in to deliver the water bottles that his family asked for on this hot LA day, but he was startled to see that all of them were zoned out, unaware of their surroundings. He notices that they all have a common looking point, so he followed their gaze to Bella's photograph that he had received at the door along with a note that morning. Alice is the first one to notice Edward's appearance and to snap out of her dumbfounded haze.

She stares right at him with a finger pointed at the picture.

"Edward, I don't know when this was taken, or who took the picture, but you have to promise me right here and right now that you will have this person photograph you again because this," Alice says while glancing back at the photo "represents the kind of photographs that should be taken of you."

Edward smiles at the fact that Alice and his family had the same reaction that Edward did when he unwrapped the framed photograph of himself.

Smiling, he walks over to his sister, hands her a water bottle, puts his hand on her shoulder, and joins everybody in staring at the picture.

"Don't worry. She will be photographing me _many_ more times, Alice."

This, Edward had no doubt about.

 **Yippe!**

 **Are we glad the family approves already? I sure am.**

 **xx, S**


	5. Sign, Sealed, Delivered

**I'm back!**

 **I figured since the last chapter was so short, I would give you a special treat and post another one.**

 **Get ready because the next two chapters are going to be fun to read (they were certainly fun to write).**

 **Hope you enjoy and get hyped for the next chapters!**

 **As always, show me some love and REVIEW!**

"Jesus fucking Christ, Alice, is this even legal?!" I yell at my incredibly nosy sister who's typing like a madman on my computer at my kitchen island.

"Seriously, babe. I understand that you want to find out more about this girl, but I don't think tracking her down is the right way to go." Jasper, Alice's husband and my closest friend, says.

"Alice, last I checked, looking up someone's name, getting their address, and driving around their house is considered stalking." I add.

"Well, I'm sorry that I want to find the girl that will become a part of our lives and will be photographing my brother constantly, and therefore be around us all the time." Alice retorts, never slowing down her typing.

"Ooh, can't forget that Edward also has a fifteen-year-old-horny-teenage-boy-I-wanna-fuck-the-shit-out-of-anything-with-a-pulse crush on her." Jasper said while popping a grape into his mouth with a smug smile on his face.

Infuriated, I grabbed a grape and throw it at Jasper's head.

"I do not think that, jackass!" The fucker was asking for it.

"Oh, save it. It's written all over your face. You're into her. Although it's a bit creepy considering you've only talked to her once, I think it's sweet." says Alice.

I huff at the sheer ridiculousness that is my sister as she stares at the computer like some kind of hacker.

"Alright, let's start with her full name."

"Isabella Swan" I say without hesitation. Couldn't forget a name like that.

Just when I say that, my agent, Riley, walks in.

"Hah, that girl. I've got to say, she's one of the coolest people I've ever met and I've only spoken to her for a total of five minutes."

"You know her?" Alice exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, clearly upset that Riley's met her and she has not.

"Uhh…yeah," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "I interviewed her with Zafrina."

"Ugh, Edward, why do you still have Zafrina? She's a cold-hearted bitch." Alice huffs, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"I know, I guess I don't have the energy to find another person to replace her."

"Well, if you asked my opinion, fire her before Bella starts next week." Riley says as he leans against the island, sipping his coffee.

"What? Why?" I asked, confused.

 _What does Bella have to do with Zafrina?_

A flash of confusion flashes across Riley's face, matching mine. And then, it is replaced with surprise.

"You didn't hear what Bella did to Zafrina?" Riley leans forward with his eyes bulging from his head.

"What? No. What did she do? I didn't even know they knew each other" I say incredibly fast, eager to find out what he's talking about.

"Hah!" Riley says, clearly animated about whatever Bella did. "Dude, it was the most badass thing I had ever seen. Zafrina was being her normal bitchy self and she was questioning why Bella would get the job treating her as if she was 'underqualified'" Riley says with air-quotes.

"Hah!" Alice interrupts, shifting her gaze towards her photo still resting in the dining room.

"Underqualified my ass" Jasper mumbles into his cup of coffee, saying exactly what we all were thinking.

"Anyways, let's just say Bella didn't appreciate the question." Riley finishes.

"What did she say?" We all said in unison, like little children trying to find out if the wolf ended up eating Grandma in The Little Red Riding Hood.

"She basically explained that she wouldn't only be your photographer, but also your 'protector'. She would protect you from the, and I quote her on this, bottom feeder insects, of Hollywood. She would protect you from the people of the people who would try to screw you over. I guess she knows people or something."

"Hold on." I say, once again confused. "If Zafrina hated her, how did she get the job?"

A sly smile appears on Riley's face. "It's no secret that your parents have a lot of power and trust me much more than Zafrina. So, I made a phone call to Papa Cullen and asked him to disregard Zafrina's hatred towards Bella and trust me and hire her. I knew after she told off Zafrina and indirectly called her a 'bottom feeder insect', that she was the perfect person for you."

"And my dad agreed?"

"He questioned what I meant, but as you know, Bella can't be described. So I told him to trust me and to hire her."

"Riley, did I ever tell you that I love you?" I ask, relieved and incredibly grateful to Riley's good judgment.

Riley responds by jokingly blowing me a kiss and delivering me a stack of papers.

"What are these?" I ask.

"Well, once you sign at the bottom of this document, Bella is officially a part of your team."

I stare at the papers, incredibly excited to know that once these are signed, I will have Bella a part of my life. Not wanting to have any more separation between her and I, I grab the fountain pen from Riley's hand and flip to the last page of the document. I see Bella's signature on the bottom, right above the place where I will be signing my name. Even her signature was perfect, it reflected who she was. It was swirly, wandering, free. I cannot wait to know more about this girl and hopefully break her shell, because my bet is that there's one interesting story underneath everything. Without hesitation, I take the pen and sign my name right under hers, officially sealing our connection.

 **ALL VISUALS ARE LINKED IN MY PROFILE AS ALWAYS!**

 **xx, S**


	6. Dust (Pt 1)

**This is a big one, you guys!**

 **We find out a big thing about Bella that will continue to play a role in the rest of the story.**

 **I saw that in a review somebody told me that my visuals weren't public... Sorry about that! They're public now :)**

 **Grad some tea, curl up, and read on!**

 **REVIEW SHOW ME SOME LOVE**

"EDWARD CULLEN IF YOU DO NOT GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE IN TEN SECONDS I'M LEAVING WITHOUT YOU" Alice screams up the stairs.

Alice, Jasper, Mom, Dad, and I were all meeting up to see our favorite singer, Emmett Hale perform tonight in LA and right now I was holding the whole group up as I was signing off on an email that needed to be finished before I left. I run down the stairs to see Alice standing at the bottom of them, tapping her foot. She was dressed in a bright pink peplum top paired with a white pencil skirt finished off with white heels that are so tall they look like they could break an ankle.

She physically pushes me out the door and into the car, where my family is waiting.

Once we get settled, my sister asks the question that I know everybody's wanted to ask, but just hasn't known when or how to.

"Have you spoken to Bella?"

The whole family is now engaged in the conversation and is eager for my answer. So, I tell them honestly.

"It's only been three days since my trial with her. Plus, she doesn't start for another four days. It would be weird if I reached out to her."

"Counting down, are we?" I slap Jasper in the arm and all he does is chuckle because he knows it's the truth.

 _Yes, I've been counting down._

After a quick ride, we pull up to the venue. We scope out the scene first, trying to find the easiest and least disruptive way to get in. I notice there are maybe six paparazzi at the front entrance, which isn't too bad. After our quick plan, my mom and dad get out first and head for the entrance. As always, there's a flurry of flashes everywhere and shouting until they enter the building.

My dad is a successful producer, and my mom is a well known director. So, they sometimes can be recognized by the paparazzi, especially when around me. Next, Alice and Japser get out. This time, there are even more flashes then last, and Alice and Jasper make a run for it as I am sitting in the car with one foot in front of the other, ready to sprint right into the venue after them.

Alice is a fashion designer and CEO of Sincerely Alice, her very successful clothing line. She was always the productive one in the family and had a very successful fashion blog by age nineteen and got her own clothing line at age twenty. Now, at 23, her line is one of the top-three most attended shows at New York Fashion Week, and she has a store in every major city and thousands of people working for her.

Jasper is a well-known model for many companies including Ralph Lauren, Dior, Burberry, and pretty much any other major fashion line you could think of. They met at New York Fashion Week back when Alice was only a volunteer and was only there for experience. At the time her blog was known but not as popular as it is now, and fashion was only a hobby of hers, not a career choice. So, when the email popped up in her inbox inviting her to volunteer for NYFW, you can only imagine the scream that erupted out of her mouth. Then, she obviously had to show her excitement even more by running around the perimeter of the house screaming even louder. Let's just say she only stopped screaming and running when she tripped on a beach towel lying on the ground and her laptop flew into our pool.

Yeah, she'll never live that one down. _Funniest. Shit. Ever._

Anyways, the first show she worked on at NYFW was for Calvin Klein. Because this was her first show, she was clearly lost and didn't really know what to do. Her boss ordered her to find a specific suit and bring it to her in five minutes tops or else she was out. Frantic, Alice was hurling herself all around backstage trying to find the suit that was nowhere to be found. With only two minutes left and having completed three laps around trying to find it, she started to break down.

Until a suit landed at her feet.

"I heard you talking to yourself about needing to find this suit; I figured I could help you out, and I found it buried under a bunch of hangers."

Eighteen-year-old Alice's red, swollen eyes met twenty-year-old Jasper looking down at her with a sympathetic grin.

Excuse me for sounding cliche here, but, the rest was history.

They began dating about a month later when he flew to LA for a shoot and they reconnected. A little less than a year ago, Japser proposed, and they plan on getting married within the next year once their schedules are less packed.

Once they are in the clear and safely in the venue, I take a deep breath and step out of the car. Suddenly, probably ten more paparazzi who were hiding around the corner jump and start taking pictures of me. I guess I only saw the six on the left side of the entrance, and not the ten other ones ready to jump out once I got out of the car. About four paparazzi took pictures of my family when they entered, but once I got out, sixteen were taking hundreds of pictures a second.

The paparazzi make me more frustrated than ever; it is truly a recipe to ruin my day. Frustrated, I run in the venue, ducking my head and trying to get through as fast and smooth as possible. Once I find my family, we all find a place to stand and watch.

"Those fuckers. There were a handful of paps hiding out waiting for me to get out of the car. They knew that if I knew there were that many I wouldn't have gone in that door."

"I know it's incredibly taxing and frustrating, but don't give them the power of ruining our night." My mom says as she places her hand on top of mine, giving it a loving squeeze.

"I'm glad we're doing this." My father says, addressing all of us. "With our lives, it can be hard to remember that we even have a family at times, so it's important that we get together as much as we can as a family and don't let our lives interfere too much"

I agreed. I get to see my family a good amount. We will all occasionally gather for Sunday brunch at my parents' house, but realistically that doesn't happen as much as we want it to. I get to see Mom, Dad, Japsper, and Alice a lot, because we have this sort of "open door policy". Anybody can walk into each others' house at any time. Because of that, I get to see Jasper or Alice pretty much everyday. Either Alice, Jasper, or both of them will walk in and have a drink or just say hi and raid my fridge.

It's the same with my parents but it happens less because they work longer hours more consistently and travel more. So, when times like these occur and we all are able to get together as a whole, we cherish it.

I look over to see Alice clutching onto Jasper's forearm bouncing up and down as she waits for the show to start.

"Remind me to put Alice in a straight jacket if she ever meets Emmett Hale," I say to my parents who were quite amused by her fangirling too.

The lights start to dim, and the house music playing throughout the venue quiets. I can feel the gaining rumble if people's cheering and clapping start as they await to see Emmett walk on stage. Once a figure appears from backstage and walks and picks up a guitar, everybody goes wild.

There truly is nothing like the feeling of standing on stage while hundreds of people are cheering and smiling for you; that's the reason why I truly love award shows. Most friends or castmates of mine hate them because they can sometimes be a chaotic mess but I've never minded them. I mean, how often are you able to go to an event where your hard work is recognized and appreciated?

One by one, the rest of the band joins him on stage and as he starts to tune and prepare his guitar.

Emmett starts the show with a "How's LA doing tonight?" and the venue gets even louder. I burst into laughter as I look over to see Alice who's screaming and holding onto Japser's shoulders while jumping up and down even higher.

"I'm incredibly excited to be here with you all. There are many special people here tonight and I am so glad they are here to share this space with us. I am ecstatic to be here surrounded by friends, family, and much love." With his words in our mind, we all look each other and clink each other's drinks.

Everybody gets quiet once again as he pays the first chord to one of our favorite songs, Only Love. He flows through the song flawlessly and he sounds better than the studio version. He truly is one of the most talented people I've ever seen.

Throughout the next few songs, my family and I have been swaying to the music, joining in, dancing, and singing along the whole time. The greatest part about all of this is that I don't think anyone has recognized me, and if they have then they haven't made that apparent and asked me for a autograph or picture. I feel weightless, free, comfortable, _normal_.

As Emmett plays the last chords of Keep Your Head Up, everybody claps and waits for him to start the next song. But, to our surprise, he instead puts his guitar down and steps up to the mic.

"I know I mentioned earlier that I have some special people with me," he starts. "one of those people is an incredibly talented and well known photographer who has travelled around the world capturing truly incredible moments of crisis, happiness, war, and peace. Some of you may also know her because she's pretty much shot every celebrity you can dream of.

She is known for these pictures, but I know her for much more than that because she's actually my sister-in-law. A little known fact about her is that aside from being a photographer, she is also an insanely talented artist and she is actually the one who writes all of my songs.

When I first met her, I was with my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and she brought me to meet her beloved sister who was living about 45 minutes away at the time. I had heard so much about this infamous sister and I never imagined she could live up to all the things and stories my wife had told me about her, and she didn't.

This girl exceeded them.

After spending time together, we instantly bonded and by the end of the weekend, we saw each other as a long-lost brother and sister. The day before my wife and I left, we all went to the beach because there was going to be a gorgeous sunset and full moon that night. Of course, I brought my guitar with me and started singing "Down to the River to Pray" which is one of my favorite songs. When I reached the chorus, I was confused to hear a female voice joining me, and was even more confused when I saw that the most gorgeous voice I had ever heard was coming out of my girlfriend's sister.

And so, because she's here tonight, I would like to bring her up here and join me on stage. I honestly wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for her lyrics."

Everyone cheers, including our whole group, excited and eager to see the mastermind behind Emmett's beautiful, poetic songs and the woman behind the voice that he had described in the story.

"Here is somebody very special and somebody I hold close to my heart, Bella Swan."

 **Oh shit**

 **You know you love me ;)**

 **xx, S**


	7. Dust (Pt 2)

**Alright you guys, here it is!**

 **Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long... I noticed not many people were online this week so I wanted to wait till I noticed more people were around to read it... Hope you understand!**

 **I have A LOT of visuals linked in my profile so PLEASE go look at them- I put a lot of time into making them!**

 **Review, as always, and show me some love.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

" _Here is somebody very special and somebody I hold close to my heart, Bella Swan."_

I froze. It had to be another Bella Swan. The world was not that small.

 _Right?_

I shoot a glance at the rest of my family, and they all return equally puzzled looks. What was going on?

The lights dim, and I see a female silhouette walk on to stage.

 _This must be the girl._

The woman walks past the microphone, picks up what I think is a guitar, and returns to center stage. I can see all the people cheering and clapping but all I hear is the thumping of my heart in my chest.

 _Is it really her?_

The applause dies down, and the screen behind her shines a white light, turning every person on stage into only a black silhouette.

Everybody is completely black and unrecognizable, including her. _Just my luck._

It is almost as if the universe is taunting me, making me wait like an impatient child to see if this person is who all of me hopes it is.

The electric guitarist on the far right starts to play a calm tune introducing the song, and after a few seconds, the mystery woman strums the first string and she starts to sing.

Her voice was the most unique, angelic voice I've ever heard; there truly are no word to sufficiently describe it.

I never have said this about any any artist before, but her voice is completely pure sex.

The song is slow and relaxing but doesn't put you to sleep.

She starts to slow her voice and the strumming becomes more broken up and quieter. I recognize Emmett's silhouette emerge from side stage and pick up a guitar sitting on the nearby stand.

" _Knee deep in the dust"_

" _Knee deep in the dust"_

Everything goes black for a few seconds, and there is a hiatus in the song.

 _Either something's happening or they really don't know how to end a song._

Suddenly, the stage explodes with bright lights and the girl is finally lit up.

 _It's her._

There's the beautifully broken Bella, frozen in time; she is even more beautiful than I remember her, and I didn't think that could ever be possible. Her gorgeous, long brown hair is in its perfectly messy, wavy state and frames her face like the work of art that she is.

She's wearing tight black jeans and a white top with a gorgeous black, gold, and white embellished jacket topped with black patent pumps. She's the most fuckable thing I've ever seen, and she doesn't even need to show an ounce of skin to prove it.

Her guitar is beautiful, a dark, rich brown wood with many intricate carvings. With the light hitting her face, I could've sworn that she was not real. I glance over at my family and smile, giving them a nod letting them know that it is the right Bella, _my_ Bella.

I snap out of my trance when I realize that the song has completely taken a 180.

The guitar piece that she's playing with Emmett is one that would be played during a part in the movie where someone is driving, going on vacation. The sounds from the guitars ooze freedom, the wild, a free spirit. It oozes Bella.

The quiet picking of strings has transformed into fast-paced strumming

She turns and is now facing Emmett who has a big smile on his face, and Bella is slightly bent over stomping her foot to the beat. They are playing perfectly in sync, together. I watch as her ring-stacked fingers strum the strings so fast that it's almost like a blur. I had no idea that she was a singer and guitar player, but then again there are a lot of things I don't know about her.

I feel someone gripping my arm, and I see it's Alice, staring intently at Bella with a huge smile. I then see Jasper, who is staring at her with his jaw to the floor. Mom, who has her hands over her mouth and the biggest smile on her face. And finally Dad, who is looking at me with a smile that says "you chose well".

"She's so beautiful, and amazing, and talented, and... wow." Alice says over the music.

"Jasper clearly agrees" I joke as I motion my head towards Jasper who's still is standing there with his jaw still open.

Alice hits him in the arm, clearly upset with his newfound fascination over Bella. "Eyes to yourself!" She harshly whispers with a wink.

The crowd starts to feel the freedom of the song, and everybody starts dancing, jumping up and down in sync with Bella's foot stomping. She then walks to the edge of the stage and looks out into to the crowd, which makes them jump higher and become more engaged. She is on fire when on stage; you can feel her happiness when she plays.

Scanning the crowd, she locks eyes with me.

 _Holy shit._

Her face freezes, but her fingers keep moving. Alice nudges me and smiles, and the rest of my family has clearly noticed that she saw me. Snapping out of her shocked state almost instantly, Bella puts on a mischievous smirk and returns to the mic while still strumming along.

" _And the sparks will fly"_

 _God her voice is incredible._

She then turns to Emmett while playing and whispers something in his ear very quickly.

" _And the fire will ignite"_

Emmett peeks off stage, and whispers something to someone. He then rejoins her in a matter of seconds; the crowd didn't seem to notice that he even left.

She continues singing the next two lines, but then she stops playing guitar and the drum continues along with Emmett. While still singing, she swings the guitar on the back so the strap is going across her chest and the guitar is against her back; she now has her two hands free. A man in black quickly runs across stage and drops something in her hand. While still singing, she sticks something in her ear, and Emmett very quickly and flawlessly unplugs his guitar and replaces it with a wireless plug and Bella does the same as her guitar joins in once again. It then reaches the part where the singing and the strumming slows once again.

" _Knee deep in the dust"_

Bella and Emmett look like they're ready to run.

" _Knee deep in the dust"_

Both take off and run down the steps on the side of the stage that lead to the crowd. Two bodyguards are about ten feet in front of them with flashlights, clearing a path for them. They are both strumming while running and playing a similar guitar solo as to before. Everybody is jumping around them, screaming and cheering, ecstatic to be near such talented people. I then start to notice that the path is nearing us, and she is coming closer and closer.

Jasper glances at me, and it is apparent that he has noticed the same thing along with the rest of my family. Alice whips out her phone and starts recording.

Security then reaches us, but instead of continuing on, they stop and start making people back up so there is an open space; Bella and Emmett are not too far behind.

They reach their opening and the crowd, including us, surrounds her. Everybody is dancing and looking like they're having the time of their life. She then faces Emmett again and they are close together, their guitars only inches apart.

" _Take me back to summer when the nights are getting warmer and I missed you."_

She sings this a couple more times until suddenly, she turns around and we are now only about a foot apart and she's staring at me while she sings the same part once again, with faster strumming.

" _Take me back to summer when the nights are getting warmer and I missed you, I still miss you"_

She's singing to me, letting me know that she saw me and acknowledged me. We are so close that if she turned off the mic she would be just as loud. Alice is filming the whole thing, and I am in a state of shock with what's happening.

The strumming turns slow again, signaling the end of the song and she slowly walks away from me, walking backwards so her eyes don't leave mine and she has a small grin on her face.

She plays her last chord and the crowd explodes, and I am the loudest one in the crowd cheering along with the rest of the family. She is still staring at me, and laughs at my obnoxiously loud whooping and yelling. I swear if I could see her laugh everyday, I would die a truly happy man.

She turns around and follows Emmett back on stage. After waving to the crowd, she walks off stage as Emmett starts his closing remarks.

I look around and realize packs of people are approaching me, asking for pictures and autographs. Within seconds there's a mob.

It's clear that Bella's singing to me didn't go unnoticed. I was so enthralled by her, that I didn't even realize that the whole crowd was watching what was going on between us and had recognized me. It was like we were the only ones in the room.

Just when I was about to make a run for it, a large security guard rescues me, grabbing my arm.

"Are you Edward Cullen?"

"Yes."

"Is that your family?" He asks, gesturing towards Alice, Jasper, my mom, and my dad.

"Yes."

"I work for Emmett Cullen and Bella." He says, flashing his ID, all-access pass, and security badge, proving that he is not lying.

"Bella Swan requested that you come backstage."

"Yes, yeah, sure." I say a bit too quickly and eagerly.

I then turn around and debrief everybody on Bella's request like the little excited five year old I am.

"Sweetie, we've had a long day so if it's alright with you your father and I are going to head home. Please give Bella our love, and tell her how much we look forward to meeting her."

"Well we're staying!" Jasper says, gesturing to Alice and himself.

I go and hug my mom and dad, telling them to get home safely.

We start walking, and the security guard pushes through all the screaming girls chanting my name. Finally, we reach a door and the guard swipes a card.

He opens the door to a long hallway and we start walking; I breathe a sigh of relief at the quiet.

"I'm Seth, by the way." The big bodyguard says with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for saving us back there."

"Yeah, that was Bella's call. She knew that would cause a scene, so she told me to get you out of there immediately after she went offstage."

"Smart girl." Jasper adds.

"You can say that again. The girl always has everything figured out before I can even think if it." Seth replies

We walk down this long hallway with many doors which I assume are rooms for the artists, and we can hear the music from outside pounding around us.

"Oh, forgot to mention. Bella and Emmett are about to do a video so be quiet when we get to their room."

As we walk down the hallway, I feel Alice squeeze my arm and when I look over at her she looks like the energizer bunny. She better control this shit around Bella and Emmett.

Once we reach the end of the hallway, the nerves hit me and I suddenly feel like I'm going to vomit as Seth starts to turn the handle on the door.

 _Here we go._

The room is filled with every type of instrument, a film crew, drinks, laptops, food, cameras, and Bella and Emmett setting up their petals in the corner in front of the camera.

Once they both finish, Bella looks up into the camera and introduces herself and Emmett.

 _Damn I will never get sick of that accent._

"She's Australian?!" Alice yell-whispers at me, as if me leaving out that piece was the worst thing I could've possibly done.

Jasper and I exchange glances in response to Alice's comment and waggle our eyebrows, both thinking exactly the same thing.

 _Australian accents are fucking hot. Period._

"Oh you guys are such man sluts" she says huffing in annoyance and turning to watch Bella.

Bella picks up an electric guitar as Emmett starts out the song on his guitar, and I pretty much come right there.

 _Bella. Electric guitar. Voice like sex. HOLY SHIT._

And if it couldn't get any hotter, she starts slowing strumming and swaying her perfect hips, while Emmett creates the background of the song with his guitar.

Making sure no one notices, I readjust myself and try my hardest to focus on the song and not the voice behind it.

Bella says the first phrase and Emmett says the next and it continues like that until they both finish strumming, signaling the end of an incredible song. It was relaxed, chill, and something I could listen to again and again. We all loved it.

"CUT!"

I watch as Bella stands up, sipping her water while Emmett and her banter back and forth; just looking at them, you can tell they're like brother and sister. I look over and realize there's a gorgeous blonde approaching the two of them. She walks behind Bella and wraps her arms over her shoulders as she joins in their conversation. They are all laughing and look like they're messing around with each other. They remind me of Japser, Alice, and I.

"Holy shit would you look who we have here." I could recognize that accent anywhere.

I turn and I see Bella walking over to us.

 _Just by walking, the girl eases cool._

She gets closer to us, and I start to get more and more nervous.

"Are you stalking me, Edward Cullen?" She says with a smug smile while crossing her arms across her chest making her boobs even more fantastic.

"You wish." I respond, matching her smile.

Out of nowhere, the energizer bunny named Alice attacks Bella like a tackle on a football team.

Completely engulfing her in a hug, Alice squeals "Hi I'm Alice!"

Bella shoots me a look, and she looks like she's about to call security. Before she has the chance, Jasper approaches Alice, pulling her back. "Please excuse my fiancé's inability to respect personal space."

"Oh shut up. Bella and I are going to be sisters. I just know it."

"Well, maybe I should know who you are and why you're back here unauthorized before we declare ourselves as sisters."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'm Edward's sister, Alice."

Jasper takes a step forward and introduces himself. "And I'm Alice's fiancé and Edward's best friend, Japser."

Bella is frozen and she's looking rapidly between Alice, Jasper, and I as if she's trying to solve a puzzle.

After about ten confusing seconds of her looking at us, she sighs in relief.

"Thank fucking god you told me; I thought you were a physco fan of Emmett's trying to kill me!" Bella says, laughing and breaking the tension.

"Why didn't you warn me and spare me the panic?!" She says to me

"Well, I thought about it, but the scene was too good to stop." I reply.

Bella huffs in annoyance as she walks over to the bar, offering us a drink.

"So. You never told me. Why were you stalking me on this glorious Friday night?" Bella asks, taking a sip of her drink and raising an eyebrow towards me.

"Well, my family has been huge fans of Emmett's music for awhile now, so we came tonight as a family outing. To say I was shocked when I found out it was you singing would be a huge fucking understatement."

A flash of realization hits her as she almost spits out her drink "Holy shit you didn't know it was me until the lights came up, did you?"

"Nope. Emmett said the person was a photographer named Bella Swan but I didn't think the world could be that small. But, you then decided to be a tease with the lights and have only your silhouette shown for a good portion of the song, so I spent the whole song confused as hell trying to figure out if it was you."

"Well I must say I came _this_ close to messing up the song when I saw you were in the crowd. It took me a couple seconds for me to really realize it was you, and I'm surprised I didn't mess up a chord or something when I figured it out." Bella says as she looks over my shoulder and recognizes somebody.

"Emmett, Rose, come over here."

All three of us turn around and I see Emmett and the blonde from earlier walking over us.

"Edward Cullen," I say, sticking out my hand, "your show was incredible."

"Hey, thanks man" Emmett says as he shakes my hand with a genuine smile.

"I'm Alice!" My sister says, jumping in front of me and embracing Emmett.

"Uhh, hi?" Emmett has the same look of confusion that Bella did earlier.

"Don't worry Em, she's cool." Bella says, leaning against the couch with an amused smile.

"See? I told you. Funny shit to watch." I say to Bella.

I turn to face the blonde. "And you must be...?"

"Rose," she says with her hand extended and an accent like Bella's. "I'm Bella's sister."

 _Makes sense. They're both stunning._

"Ok I know I've had like one radio hit, but I know I'm not famous enough to have A-list celebrities coming to meet me... I don't mean to sound rude, but why are you here?"

"Well," I start, chuckling about the absurdity of the situation. I see Bella grab her drink and plop down on Rose's lap as she waits for me to continue the story. Taking a seat, I proceed. "My family has been a fan of your music for awhile now so we came to see you tonight. I'm sure Bella already told you, but I just hired her has my personal photographer. I came here with my mom, dad, Alice, and Jasper, but we had no idea that you had any connection to Bella. Lets just say I was very shocked when the lights came up and she was the the face behind the voice."

"Damn the world is small." Rose says.

"Bella," I say, turning to her. "I had no idea you were an artist let along and amazing one. I've heard a lot of musicians, but I have to say you have the most unique, incredible voice I've ever heard." Her face blushes a gorgeous crimson as she looks to the floor in the most adorable way.

"Seriously, Bella," Jasper chimes in, "you were amazing."

"Can I just have a mini sized version of you to keep in my pocket and sing to me all day?" That comment from Alice made us all laugh.

Our laughing is interrupted when a hurt squeal escapes from Emmett as he clutches his heart with a face of mock-hurt, jokingly acting jealous of the praise we're giving Bella.

"Oh, save the tears Emmett you can't have somebody stroking your ego every five seconds of your life," Bella says with a wink.

We all continue chatting together and it feels like family. We all are so comfortable with each other, and I swear I never laughed so hard than when I heard Bella's commentary as a shitty horror movie came on the TV that was in the green room.

"I mean honestly! Please name one horror movie where a colonial white woman isn't involved."

 _Seriously, the girl was fucking hilarious._

Later, we all ended up on the floor clutching our stomachs from laughing so hard when Emmett found a game of twister that a previous band had left behind in the green room. The laughing got even louder when Emmett and Alice were in a drunken pretzel and Emmett ripped one while Alice's face was very close to Emmett's ass.

We all were buzzed, happy, and weightless. I can't honestly remember the last time I've ever laughed this hard and felt so happy and carefree in my whole entire life.

"Alright guys I don't want to ruin your teenage-girls-night-sleepover but it's 3 AM and we're headed back." The rest of the band says as they enter the green room.

"3 AM? Shit, I have to be on set in two hours." I say while getting up, surprised by the time.

"The van's all loaded up, Em." One of the crew members say as they poke their head into the room.

"Alight, we'll be out in a sec." He says as we all get up.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing you all very soon with Bells' new job." Rose says.

"Oh, yeah." Alice replies. "I'm not letting it be too long, though, because it's my duty to beat Emmett in another round of Twister."

"HAH! We'll see about that." Emmett was seriously competitive when it came to games.

We all say goodbyes and you can feel the sadness in the room about this night coming to an end. But, you can also feel the excitement from all of us for the next time this happens.

Everybody starts to leave and once it's only Bella and I, I turn to face her. She walks up to me and hugs me. It feels warm, loving, kind, it feels like home.

"Thank you for reminding me of what it feels like to truly let go and have fun." She whispers in my ear as we're embracing each other.

"Likewise," I respond with a smile on my face. "See you Monday?"

I hear a horn honking in the distance that belongs to the tour van, signaling that our time is up.

"You got it." she says as she slowly walks away backwards. She then turns and runs out the door, leaving me standing there with the biggest internal and external smile imaginable.

I walk out of the venue to find Jasper standing there, staring at me with an amused smile.

"Dude," he says putting his arm around my shoulder, "you're fucking whipped."

 **EEEEP! Hope it lived up to expectations?**

 **Once again, please check out the visuals in my profile. THE SONG AND BELLA'S VOICE ARE LINKED THERE! LISTEN!**

 **Something else important to note: if you look at my visuals you may notice Rosalie is not the same as the one in Twilight. I honestly just never saw her as that when I was writing it and this girl is truer to who I thought she was. Just FYI.**

 **See you guys again soon.**

 **xx, S**


	8. Scarlet

Hi you guys! Happy Friday :)

Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! A HUGE THANK YOU to all who reviewed. I love reading every single one of your comments. Keep em coming!

For those of you who requested longer chapters, I went back in and put in another 1k words for you :)

We get to find out about Bella's past relationship in this one... It won't come up too much but it comes up later in the story briefly.

 _DISCLAIMER: No, Bella and Matty are not getting back together or anything in this story; they're strictly friends. I'm not that mean kind of writer LOL._

Also, we meet Jacob! HOORAY!

If you guys want updates on chapters and an alert or time of when I'm going to post: check out my twitter account. I post all about this fic there. /themadones4

For those of you who are asking, yes it's Matty from The 1975. I need to put my hubby in there! ;)

Enjoy, you guys, and LEAVE ME SOME LOVE! Seriously, it would make all the tireless hours I put into this story worth it.

xoxo, S

 _***There are a series of questions at the bottom and if you guys could answer them in a review that would be amazing.***_

 _Hey it's Edward. I hope it's ok, but Riley gave me your cell number._

 _ **Hey. Yeah, of course.**_

 _So on Monday I'll be on set so why don't you come there so you can shoot some BTS and become familiar with some of the cast. Sound good?_

 ** _Sure thing. What time do you need me there?_**

 _Come when I'm done hair and makeup. 6:45?_

 ** _I'll see you then with an IV of espresso._**

 _One for me too, please?_

 ** _You got it. Have a good rest of your weekend._**

 _Same to you._

"Jake!" I yell hopping down the stairs on one foot trying to put on my black Chloé boots.

"Jake?" I shout once again, trying to find him. Where the hell was he? He better not of overslept- I need his support this morning.

"Jacob Black , if you are going to make me stomp on your face and dump water on you to wake you up then you will be so fucking sorr-"

Once I reach the bottom of the stairs, he pops out from around the corner holding a coffee cup and a delicious looking piece of avocado toast.

"Dear god you're my favorite person on this goddamn planet right now."

"I knew you would hit snooze too many times so I got this meal ready early," he says as he hands me my coffee and breakfast. "Although I did consider throwing it out when you lost faith in me and actually thought I would've overslept on your big first day."

"What would I do without you?"

"Probably be living on the street with a stray cat named Mittens."

"Ain't that the truth."

"GO!" he yells as he pushes me out the door. "You can't be late!"

I have the toast hanging out of my mouth as I am juggling my camera, phone, coffee, and purse all while trying to grab my keys.

"Thank you Jake! I'll be home around 5!" I say all muffled while I have the toast still gripped between my teeth.

"Knock em dead!" He replies as I shut the door and enter the garage to find the sexiest sight I've ever seen.

"There you are, baby."

There she is in all her glory, just waiting for me to take her on a ride.

You could say I have a very close relationship with my R8. I got it a few months ago as a gift to myself for completing a very hard job and she hasn't left my side since.

As I pull out, I plug in my phone, turn on Volcano Choir's new album, and put in the address Edward sent me.

I honestly am still on a high from what happened last Friday. The person who I least expected to be at the show was Edward, and there he was watching me play that night.

Recently, Emmett has gone into the crowd while playing the last song as a "grand finale" and everybody loves it- it makes them feel like they're just hanging out with him and like they're on stage next to him. Emmett had briefly mentioned doing it while I was on stage but I was on-the-fence about the idea. I felt like it was Emmett's thing, and as much as he told me it was crazy, I felt like I was stealing his stage identity. But, when I saw that Edward was in the crowd, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess with him and stand next to him when he least expects it. I still laugh when I think about his face when I walked right up to him and started singing to him; he looked like one of the celebrities who receives an award and wasn't expecting it at all. When I whispered the plan onstage to Emmett, he got our mics and guitars to become wireless and we jumped offstage into the crowd. It honestly was one of the most fun moments of my life.

Once Edward, Jasper, and Alice came backstage, the night got even better even when I never believed it could. We drank, hung out, and laughed for hours. It felt like I had known these people all my life and it was so comfortable being around them, especially Edward.

The more and more I get to know him, the less and less I am able to control this crush of mine.

 _It is only a crush, right Bella?_

 _No. Not going there right now. Nuh uh._

Just going to one concert is making me miss touring more than I ever thought it would. Although it was a far from comfortable life filled with stress and exhaustion, some of the greatest memories of my life on tour. My first months on tour were the worst, though. I was with Emmett shooting his US tour and at the time, Emmett was the only one I knew besides a few of his bandmates. At the time, because I wasn't super close with his bandmates, Emmett was always busy, and Rose wasn't on tour since she had work, so I was alone. But, as Emmett became more established and I became more comfortable with the band, I was so happy. Eventually he had more people working of him and the band was like family so by the end of the US tour, we all were in denial about leaving each other. We all had about a two month break and recharge until we set off on our Europe tour. The first week was good until we reached England.

It was about three years ago and we were playing Manchester, England that night. I remember it was one of the most boring days of my life because the tour van with all our equipment and instruments broke down so we were stranded without anything to soundcheck or set up for hours. I eventually couldn't take sitting around without work anymore so I decided to take a walk around the venue and check out the city. As I was walking around, I heard the familiar sound of bass pounding inside what looked like an arena. I saw a side door was cracked, so I poked my head in to see a band rehearsing. Next thing I knew, they stopped their sound check and I had been listening to them for an hour and completely lost track of time. They were possibly the best band I've ever heard. Although they were a band of boys, they weren't a "boy band" and had a perfect mixture of chill beats and alt rock. Just I was about to slip out unnoticed, a heavy english accent stopped me in my tracks. "Were we so bad that you have to escape unnoticed just so you don't have to lie to us about being great?"

Blushing like crazy having been caught, I slowly turn around and face no-other than the lead singer of the band.

And I knew him. Pretty much anybody in the music scene knew him; I just didn't know it was him onstage since the arena was so big and I couldn't see him from that far.

There Matty Healy was, every hip teenage girl's crush wearing a tight white long sleeve with back jeans that have rips in the knees and black leather chelsea boots.

He was the picture that showed up when you looked up "european rockstar" in the dictionary. He had amazing black hair with the sides of his heads buzzed and had tattoos scattered around his body. I remember when I first saw him I just wanted to sit down with him and a bottle of wine and just talk. He seemed so interesting, so intriguing. So, I was typical Bella and replied to him with a just as sarcastic comment.

Turns out they weren't actually playing that night but were playing two days from then. Their fans are so devoted that they camp out days before the show so that means the band has to rehearse before they start camping out.

What I didn't know was hours later, he mentioned the time and I realized that Emmett was going on in half an hour. We had talked for four and a half hours.

I hurriedly run back to the venue having given him my number, and I remember at least three different people commented on my glow that night. As I expected, he was one of the most interesting and funniest people I had ever met.

Long story short, Matty and I dated for about two years and I went back and forth touring with him and Emmett those years. Looking back, I was truly happy those two years until things got hard for us. The sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll lifestyle tour was slowly but surely wearing us out. Plus, around that time, my photography exploded and I was always busy shooting different places and clients. Pretty soon, I was going weeks without seeing him and it was hurting our relationship. When we reunited in Manchester, where we had a place together along with our separate houses in LA and London, we both had a long talk and decided that we couldn't be in a relationship like this. He couldn't just stop touring and I just couldn't stop shooting. We both needed to chase our dreams and our relationship was preventing that.

I am very lucky to say that he and I are still extremely close. I see Matty about four times a year whenever we find each other in the same city wherever it may be, and it is just like old times without all the affection. The bottom line is that he is still that interesting, funny, caring person I met that day, but we don't have feelings like that for each other anymore. Relationships develop and change all the time; for him and I, we went from in-love to friends. Of course it gets awkward occasionally, but we knew this would happen so we've both accepted it.

I look out the window and realize I've already arrived at the gate to set.

"Hi, Bella Swan?" I say as the guard scans a list on his clipboard.

"Keep on going for about 500 feet and you'll see a parking lot on your left. From there you'll see signs that guide you to the trailers and Edward's has his name on his." He then hands me a parking pass to stick on the dashboard and I slowly enter and park my car. I get out and am absolutely amazed by the set up of this place. It's like a little village where each street serves its own purpose like hair and makeup or costume. I soon find the area with all the trailers and walk past a couple trying to spot Edward's name. As I am scanning, I am recognizing every name.

 _This movie must have a huge budget to pay for this many A-list stars._

I haven't seen anybody yet, so I just assume the rest of the cast and crew are either filming or in their own trailers. Finally, I find Edwards and knock on the door.

"Just a sec" I hear him walking around inside.

After a few moments, the door swoops open to reveal Edward standing there looking-

 _Oh my god_

He looks fucking sexier than ever and I didn't think it was even possible for him to surpass his natural sexiness. His hair is its same, messy, light brown self but the messiness seems less effortless. You can tell he's wearing makeup for the movie, but it isn't too noticeable considering he doesn't need any at all. He's wearing a tight black v-neck long sleeve with tight black jeans that highlight his ass.

Holy shit.

He's tatted up.

 _Everywhere._

I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my whole entire life.

 _Dear god help me or else I'm not making it through this day._

"Hey" he says as I wake up from my silent prayer to stop myself from drooling.

 _Just be your normal self, Bella, and everything will be fine._

"Mornin'. Going for a new look?" I say, nodding towards the tattoos peeking out of his clothing.

"Oh, hah. These are all temporary for the role. I guess I just wanted to be more like you." He nods towards my actual tattoos.

"Well I'm honored you used me for inspiration." I say as I walk into his trailer.

"Seriously though, that ink is gorgeous. Are those all you have?"

"No, I have a couple more but most of my tattoos are small and hidden. I never was a big fan of too many tattoos on myself. I'm happy with the number I have right now. Keep the number low and size small."

I seriously loved my tattoos. My first one was when I was seventeen and I've been getting them since. They're like little post it note reminders of things I should keep in mind all over my body.

"The one I have on my right arm takes up about half of my forearm and was done by my friend back in Oz. He is an amazing artist and did a gorgeous tribal design on my forearm for me. I love looking down and seeing gorgeous art that's truly me and nobody else."

"What's that one?" Edward asks, nodding towards the '&' sign the crease of my left elbow.

"This one is about a year old. I got it because the '&' sign is a reminder that I don't have to end something. It reminds me that life is like a sentence and I can always keep on going if I just put an '&' sign. I guess it also relates to my love for literature, too."

"Sorry to interrogate you, but may I ask the meaning behind this one?" he says as he grazes the outside of my arm where one of my favorite tattoo lives. I swear when he touched my skin I felt a bolt of lightning shoot through my whole entire body. It takes me a few seconds to recover from the shock and I look up to see Edward staring into space with the same look that I have

 _Did he feel it too?_

"Oh, um, this one?" I say pointing to the script of "we're all just visitors" across the outside of my left arm.

He nods, waiting for me to continue with the most genuine crooked smile. God the way her looks at me like that makes me feel so indescribable on the inside.

 _God I could stare at him for years._

"Well, in Oz, we have the aboriginals. They were the people who were inhabiting the land before the British colonized Australia. As most colonizations go, the aboriginals were stripped of their land and culture."

"Kind of like the Native Americans?"

"Exactly. Anyways, my grandmother used to tell me this aboriginal saying: We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home." I take a moment before I continue and the room is absolutely silent.

I look up to see Edward gazing down at me with the most engaged look I've ever seen on anybody. It's like he's studying my every facial characteristic, trying to figure me out.

"I had my grandmother write it out for me before she passed. It's a reminder that I am only a visitor and therefore everything cannot be taken to seriously. It helps me put things into perspective. Nothing here is permanent because eventually I'll return home and leave everything behind. So, while I'm here, why I don't just live a rich, full life and not waste time on anything that doesn't deserve my energy? I also had my grandmother write it because not only did she introduce me to the saying, but also because she truly lived by it and lead that kind of life. Does that make sense?"

Edward waits a couple moments to think it through before he responds. "It makes perfect sense, actually."

We both stand there smiling at each other before I finish.

"Well, I'm glad you see it the same way I do."

"Oh my gosh," he says as he glances down at my gear, empty mug, and purse. "I'm sorry, I was so interested in your tattoos that I forgot you were holding this stuff. Please, put your bags down and there's some coffee I just made right there if you need a refill." Edward points to the big French press in the corner.

"Thanks. Nice little spot you have here."

It truly was. For almost all celebrities I've shot, their backstage or trailers have been an absolute bombsite. Beer cans, stray scripts, cigarette butts, wrappers, chargers all sprawled across the floor. To my surprise, though, Edward's was actually very neat.

"Yeah, I try and keep it nice so it can still be used as a place to come to when I need to take a break and I won't be overwhelmed by a mess when I come here."

We continue talking and it feels so easy and natural with him. We never run out of things to talk about, and I even found out that we have the same favorite spot to eat in LA. Even though it feels like we've only talked for fifteen minutes, my phone lights up with a text form one of my clients and I realize an hour has passed and it's time for Edward to start filming.

"Shit, we have to go. It's a quarter till eight." I start collecting my gear.

"Already? I could've sworn that was only fifteen minutes."

"What can I say? Time flies when you're with me." I say with a wink as I head out the trailer with Edward walking behind me.

"So. What are you filming today?" We start our walk towards the building he's filming in.

"Well first, do you know anything about the movie and story behind it?"

"Not a single thing." I reply honestly.

"So the very simple version is that there's a family who was once very close until there was a huge fight one year and the family kind of broke. Now, it's fifteen years later and the mother has fallen ill and her dying wish is for the family to come back and spend a weekend together. When they come back, the secrets from their past that they tried desperately to cover up start to resurface. The movie is filled with plot twists and turns as more and more secrets surface but in the end, the family realizes that the only way they can stop the spreading is by being honest with each other even if the truth hurts."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I read the script and fell in love with it. I loved how it had so many surprises and twists but still felt very realistic. Plus, our director Sam Uley is incredible and its an honor to work with him."

It's so amazing to see how passionate Edward is about what he does. I am very lucky to say that I wake up everyday wanting to go to work, but there are very few people who can say that in this world. From the way he talks about his job, I think that Edward is one of those lucky people like me.

"Anyways," Edward continues, "The scene we're about to shoot is where I meet up with my ex-girlfriend from high school who's played by Lauren Mallory. My character was kind of a fuck-up in high school but went into the Army right after graduation to run away from his secrets and baggage in the town and he ended up getting his act together. He went to the Army in hopes of making up for his rocky past and he becomes a very good soldier and begins to forgive himself about the past. When he comes back, though, his ex-girlfriend asks to meet with him and what we're about to shoot is the scene where she tells him that he has a son."

"Oh my god. He got her pregnant?"

"Yup. Graduation night and when she found out and it was the day before he was deployed so she chose to keep it to herself. She believed that by telling him it would ruin his future."

"Oh!" Edward says, darting his head to the left. "Here's the lady herself, Lauren." He says, calling her over.

"Lauren, this is Bella Swan, my photographer. She'll be on set with us while filming shooting BTS stuff."

"Nice to meet you." Lauren says, politely sticking her hand out to me. "You're very lucky to be working with him," she says looking up at Edward. "He really is a pleasure to work with." Her hand moves over and strokes his back lovingly.

 _Hold up. They're together?_

I mean, she is gorgeous and countless guys want her. Why wouldn't he be with her? Even I know that I would never have a chance with him, so why do I feel sick to my stomach? I feel like I just got hit in the gut and I can't describe why I feel like I want to punch a mirror.

 _Holy shit, am I jealous?_

NO NO NO NO. Bella Swan does not do jealous.

 _What the fuck is going on with me?_

"Well, Edward, we should probably head in." Lauren grabs Edward's hand dragging him in like a dog on a leash. "Was great meeting you, Bella." she says in a fake, bitchy way that almost feels like a slap to the face.

"Uhhh, Bella's coming with us too, Lauren." Edward says as he comes to a halt.

"Oh. Good. Come on." Lauren says with a not-so-subtle eyeroll.

 _Yeah, she was clearly not too happy to hear I was joining their love fest._ _What did I ever do to this girl? She was acting like a total bitch to me and I only spoke about three words to her. That's Hollywood, I guess._

Her and Edward get started, and I can't even focus on what they're doing. All can concentrate on is a picture of Edward's tongue down her nasty throat that my mind generated. Why am I so jealous of them? I obviously know I could never get a guy like him, and they are definitely an attractive couple. Of course they would be together. I'm just an idiot for thinking he's single in the first place.

Even on screen they're perfect. The sexy, brooding, rude Edward is totally hot and he balances out the sweet, scared, damsel-in-distress that Lauren plays. They're perfect on screen.

After grabbing more shots, I hear "CUT" and Edward finishes up and walks over to me.

Taking a swig of water, he stands next to me, leaning against the wall. "God it's fun to act like a brooding asshole"

"Well, I can tell you you're good at it."

"Honestly, what did you think of it?" He asks, turning to face me.

"Well," _Come on, Bella. Say your honest opinion even if you don't like it._ "You and Lauren's characters have an amazing ability to balance each other out and you're both great together on and off screen."

"What do you mean?" Edward has a confused look on his face.

"Well, your character is rude and a bad boy so it balances out Laur-"

"No. What do you mean about us being great together?"

 _Oh god do I really have to go into detail about how perfect they are as a couple?_

"Um, uh, I was just saying that you and Lauren, you know, are really great together. I'm glad you guys have each other. You seem really happy."

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, I start to panic. _Did I say something wrong?_

Right when I open my mouth to try and back-pedal and erase what I said, Edward bursts out into laughter and bends over, clutching his stomach.

"What the hell?" I say, completely puzzled by this situation.

"You *laughing fit* think that *laughing fit again*"

"Alright, Chuckles. Spit it out." _What the fuck is he doing?_

After regaining his breath, he starts "You think I'm dating Lauren?"

"Uhh, yeah?" It was obvious by the way she looked at him like he was made of gold.

"I'm not dating Lauren." Edward says in a very serious, matter-of fact tone.

 _Oh._

"I'm actually single." He adds on.

 _OH._

 _HELL FUCKING YEAH HE'S SINGLE_

"Why would you think that?" His eyebrows knit together.

 _Ok, now I'm really confused._

"Do you not see the way she looks at you?" I say completely puzzled.

"What?" He asks just as confused.

"She looks at you like you're fresh meat and she's a starving dog!"

"What are you talking about?"

"God, guys are so blind." I say as I start to head out of the building and back to the trailer as Edward follows.

"Why have I never noticed that she looks at me like that?"

"Edward just trust me on this one." I say, turning around to face him. "She wants to climb you like a tree."

Edward breaks into another fit of laughter and I swear that the sound of him laughing is the best thing I've ever heard. I could never be sad if I listened to him laugh forever.

"I can't believe I never noticed! You really think she's into me?" He asks genuinely.

"Totally. Do you, um, want her to be into you? Do you, you know, like her that way?"

"Oh dear god no." Edward says as if I asked him to make out with his grandma. "She's definitely not my type. I'm more into less transparent types; people with actual depth. Kinda like you."

 _Did he just say I'm his type?_

 _Of course not, you idiot. You're way out of his league. He deserves an A-list gorgeous celebrity, not their photographer. He didn't mean it that way._

"Need an afternoon pick me up?" He says, nodding towards the coffee machine in the catering tent.

"Oh, that'd be great. Black, please." I say, as he enters the catering tent.

While I wait for him to come back, I find a place to sit and take a deep breath, putting my head into my hands. Never did I ever think that I would have such a crush on him that I would jump to conclusions and act like a crazy person accusing him of dating somebody he isn't even interested in. But I'm so confused; why was Lauren acting that way then? And why the fuck does she treat me like I just killed her dog or something? The girl acts like a complete bitch towards me and I barely know her.

Moments later, Edward comes back and hands me my cup.

"It's three o'clock, so I only have some fight training to do and then I'm done. Fight training is quite boring today since I'm only running so it won't generate good pictures at all. You're welcome to stay, of course, but I don't need you for the rest of the day."

"Oh don't worry, I'll head out." I say as I start to pack my camera gear.

"Got a hot date?" He says, taking a sip of his coffee.

 _Why would he care whether or not I'm not dating anybody?_

"Yeah, no. No hot date for me; I'm single. I'm going home to my computer screen and a shit ton of pictures that I've procrastinated on editing."

"Oh my gosh, that reminds me," Edward says, grabbing my forearm in panic. Slowly letting go, he starts, "I forgot to thank you for that photo you sent me from the trial day."

"Oh, that? Please, don't thank me. It wasn't really anything."

I can feel my face start to burn up as I start to blush so I look to the ground, trying to conceal it.

"Wasn't really anything? Bella," he says, lightly tapping his finger under my chin signaling me to look up at him. Once I look up, I see his gentle, green eyes boring into mine.

 _He's perfect._

"I have had countless pictures taken of me but that one is the only one I really care about. You kept my lines and for the first time ever I truly appreciate them. I can finally appreciate myself for what I am, human, I cannot thank you enough for it."

I feel like running around all of LA singing "I'm Walking on Sunshine". He gets it. He gets what I do and why I do it, and it's one of the best feelings in the world to know you're recognized and appreciated.

"Thank you, Edward." I say in a soft whisper. We both stand in silence and I don't want to leave him but I know I have to.

"Text me later and tell me where and when you need me Wednesday, ok?" I say with a hint of sadness

 _I don't want to leave him._

"Will do." He says with a small smirk. "I'll see you Wednesday, Bella."

And just like that, he turns around and walks away, going back to his work.

I walk back to the car in a confused haze, not knowing what's happening to me. I load my camera gear into the car and get in.

I sit there for what could've been an hour just thinking, processing what happened.

If there's anything I've learned in life, it's that you cannot avoid the inevitable. With that thought, I lean my head against the steering wheel and take a deep breath, admitting the feeling that I've desperately tried to avoid.

 _I have feelings for Edward Cullen and I can't do a thing to change it._

OHHH MYYYY GOSSSHHHHH! She admitted it! What did you guys think?

BEFORE YOU LEAVE! I have some questions for you guys about the fic.

 _Are you guys looking at the visuals? I put a lot of time into those and am trying to figure out if it's worth it. It's totally ok if you're not but it would be great if you could let me know so I can add/reduce the time I put into them._

 _When is the ideal time for me to post? Is once or twice a week ok?_

 _Is this a good length or should I write more/less?_

PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THESE IN A REVIEW! IT WOULD HELP IMMENSELY!

xx, S


	9. Face the Facts

**Hey you guys!**

 **Thanks so much for all your wonderfully helpful feedback. It was awesome reading everybody's different perspectives!**

 **This one is short just because I felt like if I wrote more it would be unnatural; all that needed to be said in this chapter was said.**

 **Just a FYI for those who might wonder: James and Mike are not bad guys in this fanfic like most. They're just close friends of Edward's, not villains!**

 **Also, there are no visuals for this chapter since I felt it was all pretty self-** **explanatory.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this one :)**

 **xx, S**

BPOV

"Aaaaaaanddddd…"

I was so close. I just needed to put all final touches and then I was a free human being... At least for a few hours.

 _Come on, Bella. You can do this._

"DONE!" I say as I push away from my desk on my rolling chair and roll back with my hands up and a big smile on my face.

"Hell yeah!" Jake says slapping me on the shoulder handing me a cup of tea. I put the tea down, take off my glasses, and rub the shit out of my eyes. God it feels good to have them closed for longer than a blink.

"Holy shit, how long were you staring at that screen?"

I look at my watch and calculate.

"Exactly 7 hours and 42 minutes."

"You work too hard. I knew you were going to be exhausted, so I got something planned."

"Jake, I love you, but I'm not in the mood for "plans". I feel like that's all my life is right now."

"Trust me, you'll like this plan."

Jake entered my life right when I started getting more and more jobs as a photographer. He was a tour manager that I met at one of Emmett's shows, and we ending up hanging out that night and getting to know each other. We instantly bonded over the insanity of our jobs and how we both hate leaving home all the time and touring with musicians. We both wanted to settle down and have stable jobs that didn't require you to leave at moment's need. When I was with him that night, a text came through and the friend I hired to check up on the house while I was gone unexpectedly cancelled. Jake mentioned that he was heading back to LA the next morning and kindly offered to check up on the house when he got home. From then on, when he was home and I wasn't, I would pay him to check on the house, water the plants, change the pool filter, etc. Once I became more and more successful and had a team working for me, I contacted Jake and offered him a job. I told him he could come live with me since I had more than enough space, he would get to have a stable job like he wanted, and I would pay him more than he was getting as a TM. He immediately accepted, and because of his insane cooking skills, he's a cook, house-watcher, but most importantly a part of my photography team. I basically pay him to be around and help me with any tasks, jobs, or deliveries I may need. Since I hired him, we both have been happier than ever. He can now finally stay in one place and not have to travel every week, he has an amazing place to stay, is getting a generous pay, and he now has been able to see his family in LA more in the past two years than he has in his six years of tour managing. For me, just having my camera packed up and my coffee made in the morning when I have an 11-hour shoot ahead of me has helped my stress levels immensely. And most importantly, we're each others best friends; I honestly don't know what I would do without him. I certainly wouldn't laugh as much as I do.

Just then, I hear the alarm beep signaling that somebody has entered the gate.

"Oh god what did you do."

"Jeez, Bells, you're acting as if you expect a circus to walk through the door. It's something I know you'll love, don't worry."

I hear my door close and the padding of footsteps comes closer and closer. Wheeling my chair into the line of sight of my front foyer, I see my sister walking towards me with a bottle of wine and a folder of takeout menus.

"Yo bitches." She says as she enters my editing studio and office.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so perfect." I say as excitement about alcohol and takeout overwhelms me.

"Jake and I thought you would need this after a long day. Em wanted to be here, but he's stuck at the studio in a meeting."

"You have no idea how much I need this." I enter the kitchen and pull out 3 wine glasses for us as Rose pulls out the folder of takeout menus.

"What are we feeling? Indian, Thai, Chinese, Pizza?"

"Thai." We all say in unison.

"One more decision." Rose says as she lays out _White Chicks, Zoolander, and Mean Girls._

"It's a toughie, but I vote _White Chicks._ "

"Agreed."

Once our food arrives, we plop down on my couch and turn on the movie as I try to drown out my thoughts in my glass of wine and delicious, greasy Thai food.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, Rosalie stops it but I don't even notice because I haven't been watching.

All I have been able to think about is Edward and how I came to have feelings for somebody I technically don't even know. This isn't like me and I know it.

"Bella, what the fuck is up with you?" Rosalie says, turning to face me on the couch.

"Seriously, I know you've been swamped with edits, but you've been acting off since you got home yesterday." Jake adds as he puts his takeout container down and turns to face me.

"What were you doing yesterday that shifted your mood?" I don't respond. Suddenly my food becomes incredibly interesting as I push it around my plate.

"She was working with Edward." Jake says after they both realize they won't get an answer from me.

"Oh hell no." Rose says as she slams her food down and stands up looking like she's ready to go into battle. "If that fucker said or did something to you I swear to god my foot-"

"No, no Rose. It's not that." I say as I pull her back on the couch.

"Then what is it? You can trust us, Bells." Jake had a concerned look on his face.

Once again, my tongue is immobile and I can't speak.

 _Since when did I become mute?_

"Oh my god." I look up and Rose is staring at me like I have three heads.

"What?" I say, wiping my face making sure nothing's wrong.

"You have feelings for Edward." Rose says as she crosses her arms and sits back on the couch with a look of amazement, staring at me.

 _There it is. It sounds even more insane hearing it. How the fuck did she figure it out so quickly?_

"No shit, Rose, every female has feelings for him. He's a heartthrob." Jake adds as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, Jake," Rose says, turning to him. "she has, like, real feelings for him."

I put my head in my hands and take a deep breath.

 _What the fuck is going on with me?_

After moments of silence, I hear an "oh my god" escape from Jake's mouth as he puts the pieces together.

"I don't know what's going on with me." I whisper.

Rose scotches over and wraps her arms around me as Jake does the same.

"I know it's scary, Bells. I know you were at school when I met Emmett so you weren't around, but mom can attest that I was acting the same way as you were. The only advice I can give to you is don't overthink it; just let everything play out the way it's meant to because the only way it can is if you let go and accept that you have no control over what's going on. And no, nothing's going on with you and you're not crazy; we can't control how we truly feel about people and accepting that is a lot easier than fighting it. Trust me, I learned the hard way."

"Just remember that if it doesn't scare you, then it probably isn't worth fighting for."

And just like that, I unravel.

I cry out every feeling of frustration, confusion, discomfort, fear, and even excitement that I've been holding in since yesterday.

"Let is out, it's ok." Rose says as she traces circles on the back of my sweater.

After about ten minutes of sobbing, I take a breath as I start to steady my emotions and wipe my eyes.

"I don't understand why I'm crying."

Rose lifts up my face so she can look into my red, swollen eyes. "You hold in so much, Bells, your body needs to release emotion somehow whether it's laughter or tears. You need to let yourself have a good cry once in awhile. It isn't weak, it's actually quite strong of you."

"I know" I say through sniffles as Jake hands me tissues.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asks.

"I have no clue. I really have no clue."

"Just let it go naturally and it's important to not change how you act around him. Just be yourself and see where it goes. That's all you can do at this point."

"God, I love you guys." I pull them all into an embrace.

After pulling apart, Rose walks over to the kitchen. "You know what mixes perfectly with tears?"

"Uhh, nothing?"

"Wrong." She turns around and is holding three carton of Ben and Jerry's.

"Chocolate Brownie for Jake, Mint Oreo for Bells, and Chunky Monkey for me." She says as she hands us each a carton and a spoon.

I raise my carton like I'm about to give a toast and start, "To letting go, not thinking about boys, and drowning ourselves in wine, Ben and Jerry's, and White Chicks."

"Fucking A." Jake says as we all clink our cartons together like glasses and resume our movie.

I don't know why I feel this way now, but I am now feeling like everything's going to be ok.

EPOV

"Five, four, three, two, one,"

All I can focus on is the satisfactory feeling of my fist connecting with the pad as a unleash up on the targets on both of my fight trainer's hands. Although there isn't much fighting in this movie, I have been seeing my fight trailer, Brandon, everyday. Since starting with him I've been feeling a lot better after releasing pent up frustration and stress that I didn't even know was there. Additionally, the studio has been quite happy about this too considering it's keeping me in shape.

"Alright, enough." Brandon says as I begin to slow down my punches as I come to a full stop.

"What the fuck is up with you, Cullen?" Brandon says as he drops his arms to the sides and looks at me with a concerned look.

"What do you mean? I'm fine. Nothing's going on."

 _Liar._

"Bull. You just over-denied like a guilty four year old who can't lie for shit. "

"He just needs a good lay." I hear this voice from behind me and turn to see Jasper, and my two other closest friends Mike and James jump into the ring.

"Well whatever it is, you need to get it out. Now."

"I told you it's nothing so can we please drop it?" Can't they see I'm not in the mood to talk about this?

"This certainly doesn't sound like nothing. What gives?" Adds Mike.

"I wouldn't call lovesickness nothing, Edward, it truly is a serious issue that needs attention immediately" Jasper says with a sarcastic ass tone.

Jasper glares at me as the back of my hand connects with his bare arm

"OW"

"Fucking rat!"

"Oh come on! They were going to find out about her anyways"

"Who's her?"

"Wait there's a her?"

"No."

"Yes."

"If she isn't a her then what is she?"

"I don't know who she is but she definitely isn't a her."

"Wait so she's isn't a her but actually a he?"

"I'm lost."

"Oh dear God help me" I flop down on the ground and rub my eyes with my taped hands.

After everybody stands for a couple seconds trying to catch up on one of the most confusing conversations I've ever had, I sit in the corner and feel even more confused about Bella that I have been since I last saw her.

I couldn't have actual feelings for her. I'm not that kind of guy; I'm too busy with my job and have no interest in devoting my nonexistent time in taking care and worrying about another person. I can barely take care and worry about myself. There's no way this can work.

"Hold on," Brandon says as he sits down next to me. "if this she is just another one of your girls, then why the hell were you punching the shit out of me? You've been acting on edge all week and look like you haven't gotten any sleep."

"Because I haven't."

"But why? you have a new girl every month and don't act like this."

I look up and the guys' puzzled faces and wait for them to figure it out.

Slowly but surely, I see them put the pieces together.

"Holy shit" Mike breaks the silence.

"No fucking way." James adds

"You have feelings for her." Brandon says and even he sounds like he can't believe what he's saying. _Trust me, dude, I can't believe it either._

I lean my head back and take a deep breath. _What the fuck do I do?_

"Well how many times have you slept with her?" James asks

"I haven't. We've only talked."

"Wow. you really are a changed man."

"How do you know her?" Mike asks

"She's my new photographer."

"And one of the hottest most naturally gorgeous girls you've ever seen."

I shoot Jasper a look telling him he should regret what he just said.

"What? Besides Alice, of course." _Nice save buddy._

"Damn you're already possessive over her." James says still taking in the news. "You're in deeper than I thought."

"In what deeper than we thought?" I hear a voice to my right as the side door to the gym opens and I see Riley walk in.

"Oh, nothing, we're just talking about Bella and how great she's been doing so far." I want to kiss Jasper for not saying what we were really talking about.

"Uh, yeah, but can we please talk about the girl? I'm jumping on that asap. She's a walking sex machine and the most gorgeous face's I've ever seen and my god by far the hottest, most perfect body and ass I've ever-"

Before I even know it, I'm up on my feet with my nose inches away from Riley's. "Don't you dare even try." I say every word with as much seriousness as I can muster. I feel like my jaw is about to break from clenching my teeth so hard. All I see is red. I probably look like I'm about to skin him alive, which is an option I am not leaving out for consideration.

 _He does not. go. near. her._

I see as Riley's fave is surprisingly not mad and am even more surprised when his face lightens up into a surprised smile.

"Well I'll be damned. It's true." Riley is staring at me like I have three heads.

"What the fuck?" I say as I back away just an inch.

"I knew it. You have feelings for her." _What is going on._

"Wait, how did we get from Edward looking like he's going to rip off your face to this topic?" Mike adds as he butts into the conversation just as confused as I am.

"I don't actually plan on trying to get Bella, although she is fucking stunning."

"Then why the fuck did you have me come this close to beating the shit out of you?" Was this some kind of joke? Who does he think he is?

"Well, I needed someway to confirm my theory about you and her." Riley says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world

"Please, explain." I say, pissed about him making me this angry to confirm this theory of his that he has yet to explain.

"If you saw the way you and Bella look at each other you'd understand. I saw from the second you were with her that you liked her, and I mean _liked_ her, so I figured I would know if I was right if I acted like I was into her and you got possessive... Theory damn confirmed."

"Why the fuck didn't I think of that?" Brandon whispers to himself

"I guess the only other question I have for you is what are you going to do?"

"I have no fucking idea."

"Well, my advice is to just act natural with her and feel it out. You'll know when it's the right time to make a move and until then, act as you normally do around her."

"How can I do that? She is so intelligent and amazing and the most talented person I've ever met. Did I tell you she's a singer too?

"An amazing one." Jasper adds

"Just embrace that, dude, be the gentleman you are and most importantly be yourself. That's the only way you can make sure this will work and last. I assume that if this happens you want it to last?"

"I can't answer that yet because it's too early, but as of now, yes."

"Then there's your answer. Be yourself around her and enjoy the time you have with her."

"Riley, did you know that you're the best but most infuriating person I know?"

"You all sound like girls." James says, jumping into Riley and I's conversation. _Typical James._

Breaking up our relationship counseling meeting, the speaker announces that I am due in hair and makeup for the next scene to shoot.

"Alright, that's my cue, ladies. Thanks for today, Brandon, and don't be too hard on them, ok?" I say nudging over to the guys. Since I've been raving about Brandon, the guys have started using him too.

"Aw, come on! Just because we talk like girls doesn't mean we fight like them!"

"We'll see about that." Brandon says as I turn and head out the door, returning to the hair and makeup tent.

I was seeing Bella tomorrow and surprisingly I am feeling more at ease. For once, I feel like if I follow their advice and be my true self and say goodbye to my fuckboy ways, then I may have a chance with her. And it feels good.


	10. Midnight, Car Lights (Pt 1)

**Hi you guys!**

 **I am sorry I didn't update this weekend. School and work has been crazy busy and I can barely catch a breath.**

 **I know you all love longer chapters, but if I am going to update as frequently as you all want me to, then I don't have enough time to write long chapters. Would you guys prefer longer chapters but less frequent updates or shorter chapters but more frequent updates? Let me know.**

 **And the name of this chapter is another The 1975 reference… sorry I can't help myself.**

 **Shoutout to all the people who know which song the title is from ;)**

 **Bella and Lauren definitely...interact...in this chapter. That's all I'm going to say; see for yourselves!**

 **Hope you all enjoy this one and please check out the visuals and REVIEW as always!**

BPOV

If there's one thing that should be illegal in this world, it should be making human beings wake up when it's still so dark that when you hold your hand up inches from your face, you can't see anything. This idea for a new law came into my mind because I am currently walking on to set and can't see a damn thing because it's 4:15 in the morning and dark out.

NOT. OKAY.

I knock on Edward's door and enter to find him in the same black clothes and tattoos as last time typing something into his phone. "Morning sunshine" he says sarcastically as he looks up at me with an amused smile.

 _God he's hot._

"Great. Now it's confirmed that I look as tired as I feel. How the hell do you get up this early everyday?"

"Well, first of all I wouldn't say you look exhausted. I would say more of an adorably crumpled. And second of all, the answer to that question is a shit ton of coffee and cold water to splash on your face and keep you awake."

"Well whatever you're doing keep doing it because you look like you got 12 hours of sleep."

"You can thank the makeup artists for that. I just can't wait till I wrap this and can finally get a good night's rest. You ready to head out?"

"Yeah, totally. Where are we headed?"

"Lauren and I are shooting a scene where I apologize to her about how I treated her in high school and it's super emotional and blah blah blah and she kisses me. It's supposed to be set at night but because there would be too many crowds if we shot at night in the street, we're shooting early when it looks like night and nobody will be there."

First I had to watch Lauren fawn over Edward now I have to watch them make out? Awesome.

"The driver will drive us there and he's parked right out front so just grab whatever you need and let's go."

After only a five minute drive, we arrive in town and thankfully it's only occupied by people working on the movie. After I get out of the car with Edward, I catch Lauren staring at us from afar. Once we make eye contact, she gives me a dirty look just like before and stomps away. _Seriously, what did I ever do this girl?_

"To who?" Edward says.

"Oh, gosh. I didn't realize I was thinking out loud."

"Well, now that you've slipped you've got to tell me. Who is acting like that?"

"Ever since I met Lauren she's treated my like I have the plague or something. I've said about three words to her and she acts like I'm a serial killer or something."

"Weird. I would just ignore it. She could just be stressed for all we know."

Edward was right. I am probably being too quick to jump to conclusions and maybe she just has a chronic case of resting bitch face syndrome.

After a quick discussion with the director, Edward and Lauren take their places as I set up my camera.

Once we complete a couple takes of the first part of the scene, Sam calls cut and adjusts the camera then starts, "Alright just remember the position your characters are in and make this as passionate as possible."

Oh god.

The kissing scene.

I forgot.

 _N_ ow I have to watch Edward and her play tonsil tennis and photograph the damn thing as if I would forget the dreaded picture. Rad.

 _Somebody hand me a barf bag and save us the clean up._

"Annnnnnnd, action"

Edward's left hand brushes up her left cheek as Lauren ever so slightly leans into the touch. Painfully slowly, he leans in until their lips softly meet.

 _I can't do this._

They deepen the kiss as Lauren grabs on to the back of his neck a little too enthusiastically. As a matter of fact, I would put money on the fact that they both were enjoying it and it makes me feel sick to my stomach. Why the fuck am I the jealous type all the sudden? Right now, the fact that I'm jealous over them kissing because it's their jobs is making me more angry then the kiss itself. I mean of course it's going to look real, that's why they're considered the best at what they do.

 _I need a walk to snap out of this._

I quickly whisper to a crew member that I was grabbing some coffee as I start the walk over to the catering tent.

Refilling my mug, I find a seat against the wall and lean my head back.

 _Get it together, Bella. This isn't like you and you know it._

I am suddenly snapped out of my haze when the sound of a glass slamming on the table wakes me up. I flick open my eyes to see Lauren standing there with both of her hands on her hips and a pathetic angry look on her face.

"Uhhhh… can I help you?" I say with a look that says that she should think twice before starting with me.

"Um. Yeah. You can, sweetie. Listen to me closely and I'll repeat it if that tiny brain of yours can't comprehend it. I'm going to be with Edward and it's about time you realize that. I see the way he looks at you and I'm not buying that. You watched that kiss back there and everybody could see how real it was. So I'm here to be kind and give you some advice: quit now before you make a fool of yourself, bitch."

 _Was this girl serious?_

 _This was some of the funniest shit I've ever heard._

After trying hopelessly to retain my laughter, I suddenly unravel into a laughing fit.

Lauren Mallory seriously had the nerve to approach me that way and speak such bullshit to my face and expect me to sit back and follow the rules? Hilarious. If that's the case, though, she must clearly be mistaken because I'm not the kind of girl who sits back and lets people walk over me and I most certainly don't take bullshit from anyone.

"What the fuck are you doing, tramp? Would you mind filling me in on the joke?" She is tapping her foot with her arms still crossed and I can see her face becoming redder and redder with anger.

I suddenly stop laughing and look right into her eyes. _You seriously chose the wrong girl to say this to._ "Aww, Sweetness, you don't get the joke, do you?"

"Most certainly not so would you mind filling me in on why you just broke out into laughter? I take what I said very seriously."

 _This bitch does not understand what she just got herself into._

I completely change my face and give her the look that has been known to scare any human being, young or old. I couldn't help but smile internally when I noticed her flinch. _This will be too easy._

Taking a breath, I stand up straight and step away from the wall till I'm nose to nose with her.

'Laurie, is it? First off, I would like to thank you for your offer to repeat what you said to me considering my college educated, summa-cum-laude brain probably can't handle it. Second of all, it may be of shocking, but there are some females like me who aren't only concerned about fucking Edward. Some of us actually treat him like a human being and not an object. Crazy, right?"

Taking a breath as I see her start to hold her breath out of rage, I continue.

"Also, as far as that kiss goes, I would like to remind you that unlike yourself, Edward is an incredibly excellent actor and it's his job to make people believe that he means what he says and does. As for you, enjoy it while it lasts because in say, I don't know, ten years you'll be just another one of those actresses who is either extinct or only casted in that soap opera that only gets aired once a week in the 4 AM slot. Finally, as for embarrassing yourself, I'm more than positive that you've already done that job for me. Do you understand what I just said or do you want me to repeat it in case that brain of yours couldn't comprehend it, hm?"

Lauren stares back at me and you can see in her face that she knows she lost.

 _Can't say I didn't warn her_.

As she opens and closes her mouth to hopelessly find a response, she does the only thing she knows.

I see her right hand raise and fly straight towards my left cheek.

 _God didn't this girl understand that she shouldn't mess with me._

As if she couldn't embarrass herself and more, my right hand flies up across my body and stops her hand midair effortlessly.

 _That's what you call years of self-defense classes starting in middle school, honey._

"Aw, sweetness, you try so hard." I put on a mocking pout as I stare as her hand that's shaking with fury. "Next time maybe think up a better argument or don't make it so obvious that you're going to slap me and _then_ we'll have some fun. I would like more of a challenge than a hopeless, sad speech and a flimsy attempt to slap me. Save that for when you finally go back to high school and get that degree of yours, that's where you'll find somebody at your level to fight with."

Glancing at my watch, I fake gasp and smile at her. "Oh my gosh! It's late. I have to get back to Edward, but please let me know if you need advice on trying to get him. You definitely need it." I pick up my coffee, wave my fingers, and wink.

Bella: 1, Lauren: -1,000.

"Alright. I'm sick of respecting privacy. What gives?"

"Leave it, Uley."

"No, Mallory, I will not leave it because since this morning you have been totally on edge plus your fists and jaws haven't unclenched in hours."

"CANT ANYBODY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" I quietly snort as I see Lauren stomp off camera like a four year old who just got told she can't have dessert.

"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Edward says as we stand behind the camera having just watched Lauren's little temper tantrum. I take a super long sip of my coffee, burying myself in my mug to hide the smug smile on my face

 _The bitch deserves it._

"Oh no."

I try and conceal my smile as much as possible and play dumb as I look up at Edward who's eyes are wide open.

"What?" _God, this smile concealing is tough shit._

"You totally had something to do with her meltdown, didn't you?" Edward says.

I peek at him through one eye and see his eyes wide and an shocked smile on his face. "Guilty as charged?"

"Oh dear Bella Swan what did you?"

"Absolutely nothing! The girl was embarrassing herself so I just have her a couple reminders, that's all."

"If there's one thing that's for sure, it was definitely not as innocent as you made it sounds."

"No, the girl just can't handle the truth."

Edward flips out his phone and momentarily I hear the familiar robotic voice of Siri

Confused, I watch as Edward starts "Siri, remind me to never cross Bella Swan."

"Damn straight, Cullen!" I say through laughter as I walk towards the trailer to go grab my camera.

Just as I walk outside, I see Lauren and what looks like her publicist trying to her calm down. The girl was seriously five years old, stomping her foot and everything. When Lauren catches my eye, I smile and wave, just to turn the knife a bit more.

 _This is too damn fun._

After hours and hours of more shooting and occasional naps, we finally wrap and I see that it's been 24 hours since I left home yesterday.

"Shit." I say. _How did it get so late?_

"What?" Edward says in response as we walk back to the trailer to pack up our stuff.

"No wonder I'm starving, we haven't eaten since lunch and it's almost 4 AM right now. I can't believe that we've been shooting for almost 24 hours"

Edward stops and turns to me after I say this as he stuffs his hands in his pockets and focuses on the ground. _Why is he acting weird all of the sudden?_

As he grabs the back of his neck, he starts "Well, you know, we both haven't eaten in hours so, I don't know, do you maybe want to grab a bite to eat?"

Edward looks up at me when he finishes as I sit there and question why Edward would have any interest in seeing me outside of work when he's not paying me.

I guess my puzzling was a second too long because Edward quickly tries to take back what he says. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea, I'm sure you have somewhere else to be, ya know, and you must be exhausted and I'm sorry for assuming that you wer-"

"Edward, I would love to. Now shut up and stop trying to hopelessly backtrack just because you thought I would say no. To be honest, I was just surprised you would even care about me outside of work."

"Of course I do, Bella, I told you this on the first day. We're family now."

I internally let out a squeal as I try and put a cover on my excitement. Play it cool.

"Well, in that case, I know a place where we can get some bomb-ass Chinese food."

"Don't say any more. I'm in."

EPOV

Once Bella and I finish up things we had to do before we left, we say goodbye to the crew members and walk off set. Since we both left our cars at the other location this morning, I call an Uber and are met with a grumpy man who is clearly not too happy about a call at 4 am to pick us up.

"Where ya headed?"

After Bella quickly names off the address, she leans back against the seat with her eyes closed and I take in her every feature. Watching her silhouette against the passing city lights outside made it the most relaxing drive I've ever experienced. There was something about this girl, it was as if we've known each other forever. I truly cannot think of another past instance where I have ever felt so comfortable instantly with somebody. I was able to let all my guards down around her and the only other people I was able to do that with was my family and Jasper.

Slowly, I see Bella's eyelashes lift as she looks at me with a soft gaze. "Whatcha thinking about over there, Cullen?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just questioning our decision about going to a place that serves Chinese food at 4 o'clock in the morning."

"Edward, if I told you to trust me, would you?"

This question definitely wasn't only regarding Chinese food takeout.

It's a good thing though that I don't have to even think about the answer to the literal and inferred question because I've never doubted my response.

"Always."

The edges of her mouth turn up into the gentle smile I love and I swear right then I felt like I was invincible.

 _God, she is so beautiful._

The car comes to a stop as I peer out the window and see a red onning that says "Chinese Takeout Free Delivery"

Right as I start to open the door to head into the restaurant, I see a small, old Chinese man run out to the car and approach Bella's window. Once her window's open, he sticks a takeout bag through the window and gives her hand a kiss.

He leaves, and she rats off another address to the driver as she sits back and puts the bag of mysterious contents back.

"Wow, Bella, I never knew you were the old Chinese type but then again I was wrong to judge." I say with a wink and a giggle and she rolls her eyes.

"This is around where I live, and I've been going there for years and I became friends with the owner over time. He's the sweetest old man and he always has food ready for me if I need it after a late shoot and everywhere else is closed.

"What did you order?"

"That's a surprise. You told me that you trusted me, remember?"

"Well can I ask where we're going?"

"No, but you honestly didn't expect me to feed a-list celebrity Edward Cullen in an uber, did you?" I look and see she has a mischievous grin on her face

"Lead the way, captain." I say as I surrender to her.

 **To be continued, my friends!**

 **It won't be too long before these something happens with these two, I promise.**

 **I'm sorry I couldn't continue from here, but I wanted to get a chapter up and didn't have enough time to write that much.** **Part two is going to be good!**

 **What did you all think of Lauren and Bella's confrontation? Hopefully things make a bit more sense with why Lauren was acting that way towards Bella, but I think you all saw that coming. To be honest, that was one of the funnest parts of this story to write yet. I left the computer feeling like I wanted to punch something; Bella's anger transferred through me and completely energized me. I hope you all felt that fierce energy and power that was oozing out of Bella through the words.**

 **I am hoping to get part 2 up ASAP, but no guarantees.**

 **Also, I am going on tour next week (yes, that is how I know so much about tour life) so there won't be much writing time so I will try and get ahead so I can post. Once again, no guarantees.**

 **REVIEW my loves!**

 **xxx, S**


	11. Midnight, Car Lights (Pt 2)

Hola amigos!

Here's a new chapter for you guys. I really loved writing this one and I hope you enjoyed reading it :)

We learn a lot about Bella and her past and how she got where she is today. Don't worry, Edward's story will come along in the story too.

Also, we get some cutesy Edward and Bella stuff that I think you guys will love.

So, sit back, relax, and get ready for some storytelling.

xx, S

IMPORTANT TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of sex slavery, war, and kidnapping. If you are sensitive to any of these topics then I would recommend skipping the middle part of this chapter.

 _"What did you order?"_

 _"That's a surprise. Just trust me."_

 _"Well can I ask where we're going?"_

 _"No, but you honestly didn't expect me to feed a-list celebrity Edward Cullen in an Uber, did you?" I look and see she has a mischievous grin on her face_

 _"Lead the way, captain." I say as I surrender to her._

After a few minutes, we pull off the road we've been on for a couple miles and the Uber dirver drops us off in what seems to be like the middle of nowhere.

"Um, Bella, I know you said we weren't eating in an Uber, but a dirt hill isn't what I had in mind." Seriously. This place looked like a serial killer could run out of the woods in any second.

"Oh, shut up," Bella says as she starts walking up the hill carrying the food, "I first came up here a few years ago with a some friends and have been coming here since."

"Gotta say. You're the first person I've ever met that enjoys giant anthill-like places off a random road in LA."

"Geez, you're proving yourself to be one of the most impatient people I know." Bella retorts as she starts walking.

As she leads the way, Bella takes me to the side of the hill where there are little rock steps that lead you up it. After about of minute of walking up this mysterious structure, Bella turns to me with an excited look on her face.

"Edward Cullen, are you ready to see the best view of Los Angeles in all of the world?"

Right then, she grabs my hand and pulls me up to the top. We reach the "summit" and all I can see is black and a highway in the distance.

"Um, Bella, I hate to burst your bubble but I was expecting a bit more than darkness and a highway in the distance."

Bella huffs once again as I feel her hands on my shoulders as she spins me around.

And there it is.

You can see miles and miles of yellow, purple, orange, and white twinkling lights that perfectly mirror the sky above us. There are skyscrapers, highways, houses, avenues, parkways and I never imagined that these industrial structures could be so beautiful.

"Amazing, right?" I look to my left and see Bella standing next to me with the same look of awe on her face as me.

I can't even answer her because my brain can't leave the gorgeous sight in front of me.

"It's ok to be speechless, but you do have to eat." I see Bella walk over to the ledge of the hill and open up the bag of food. Regaining myself, I walk over and join her.

"Whatcha got for me besides this gorgeous view, Swan?" _I wasn't talking about the LA skyline view._

"Well, we have egg rolls, sesame chicken, vegetable fried rice, and my favorite, steamed pork dumplings"

Without being able to control it, a huge groan of pleasure escapes my mouth at the sight of this food. I was starving.

Picking up chopsticks, Bella and I dive in our dinner making occasional moans of delight.

"Ever played 20 questions?" I turn and face Bella.

She raises a sassy eyebrow in response. "Edward, I may not be from the US, but it doesn't mean that I have know knowledge of a simple game like 20 questions."

"Fair enough. You start."

"Favorite class in high school?" Bella asks

"Shakespeare. You?"

"World Religions. Your turn, Scissorhands."

"Ha-ha, Amy Poehler."

I take a second before I think of a question.

"When you played hooky in high school, what would you go and do?"

"Surf."

"I would binge watch scary movies with Alice if she stayed home too."

"Most embarrassing moment of your adolescent years?"

"Probably when Alice was doing a powerpoint presentation in front of my whole high school and instead of clicking on the powerpoint she clicked on a video she took of me dancing and singing in the shower. The whole school saw it."

"Damn. I would have to say when Rose had a massive sleepover which I was unaware of and her and all of her friends walked in on me having sex with my high school boyfriend."

"No shit."

"Shit."

"Best concert you've even seen?"

"That's a toughie since I have been to more than I can count but I have to say Fleetwood Mac. Saw them my junior year in an outdoor amphitheater."

"That's hard to beat, but most definitely when I saw Coldplay preform in a library with only two other people watching."

The rest of the time we were eating we continued firing off these questions like these while looking over the city lights of LA.

"Most incredible person you've ever worked with?" Edward asks after we finish eating.

Without hesitation, Bella answers.

"A photographer named Lynsey Addario. She's a National Geographic photographer and her and I worked together for a few months. I previously had looked up to her as an inspiration so it was a complete honor to work with her in real life."

 _Why do I know the name Lynsey Addario?_ I puzzle over it for a minute until I realize that I know her work and that she's a conflict photographer for National Geographic... This doesn't make much sense.

"Yeah, I know her work. Isn't she a conflict photographer, though? What was she doing shooting celebrities with you?"

Bella puts down her food and takes a second before looking at me. "I wasn't always a celebrity photographer."

 _Oh my god._

I have to take a couple second to digest what I just heard until I am able to verbalize the question I was afraid to ask.

"You were a conflict photographer, weren't you?"

Bella nobs slowly and I can see the tension in her face. It's no secret what these people have to go through and I can never imagine letting Bella go out there and have to see what she saw. Yes, she was crazy strong, but nobody as good and pure as her should ever have to do what she did.

Taking a deep breath, she says with a small voice, "The things I saw still haunt me to this day."

 _You idiot! Things were all light and happy and now she's reliving her worst nightmares in her head because you brought it up!_

"Bella, I'm so sorry for bringing it up, I hone-"

"Please, it's more than ok. It was a terrible part of my life, but also one of the most fulfilling."

"Well then would you mind if I asked more about it? I'm not trying to pry, but I just cannot imagine the things you saw with that job."

"That is true; the things I saw were unimaginable. Rape, abuse, I had to photograph five year old child soldiers getting shot and homes, including the residents, getting set on fire and that was the least of it. But then I also was able to help so many people and even though there was so much loss there also was so much gain."

"No human being should have to see what you saw, Bella. You must've been young when you had this job."

"I was. It was a few years ago and I was abroad and shooting for six months. I couldn't bear doing more than that."

"What were some of the fulfilling experiences that you were talking about?"

She takes a second to think before she starts her story.

"I was in Afghanistan at a refugee camp. I was shooting some of the women and girls staying there and I remember this one girl named Taban. She was only about eleven years old and was one of the bubbliest, sweetest girls I've ever met. I always brought hacky sacks for the kids to play with and we used to pay hacky sack every day before lunch. Anyways, I noticed she wasn't with any family which wasn't that surprising considering most of the kids' parents were killed in the war or are prisoners. A few weeks later, I traveled north to a village about 100 miles away from the camp. A few days into my stay, I was invited to an Afghan man's house whom I was supposed to investigate. I was pretending to be the wife of a collegue of mine who was Afghani and was going undercover too. The man who invited us is known for having hundreds of sex and labor slaves who are forced to work for him. My collegue was posing as a man interested in buying some of the slaves and I was his wife who came along. My job was that while they were talking "business" I would go and photograph the slaves and do an inside story about the reality of slavery in Afghanistan.

"Did you get caught?" I couldn't stop listening.

"Thankfully, no. I went around the house and told the slaves that I was actually a photographer and that we would help them. They let me take their pictures and all huddled around the camera because they wanted to see my photographs. When I turned on my camera, the picture of little Taban was up on the screen. One woman screamed and ran out calling somebody's name. The women and I were all confused until the woman came back with another enslaved woman who ran straight up to me and grabbed my camera. Suddenly, she broke out into sobs." She takes a breath before continuing.

"Turns out Taban was the enslaved woman's daughter and the mother had been stolen by the Afghan man who had all of these women held captive. She hadn't seen her daughter, Taban, in five years and had no idea if she was alive."

"So you're telling me one of the slaves was Taban's mother?"

"Yes, the woman who had ran out was from the same village as Taban and her mother so she knew what Taban looked like and recognized her friend's daughter when she saw the picture. In the end, we got the pictures for the story and reported the man the second that we left. The women got freed and the man was arrested a couple days later. Once she was freed, Taban's mother walked all 100 miles to the refugee camp that her little girl was staying at. I had gone back to America by the time they reunited, but a friend of mine was still there and was the one who escorted Taban's mother to the camp. A few weeks after I arrived back in the states, I was on tour and got a picture from my friend of Taban and her mother and they had reunited happily. The feeling of absolute elation and joy was the most overwhelming feeling I've ever experienced and I knew right then that all the pain of my job was worth it."

"Have you had any updates from them?"

"Yes," I look over and I see tears making her cheeks shine like the bright light she is.

"About a year ago, one of my contacts in Afghanistan has gotten news that Taban's mother was killed in a landmine. I was absolutely devastated by the news but there was a comfort to the feeling knowing that she got to spend a lot of time with her daughter before she passed. It's an amazing thing to think this woman never believed that she would see her child again before she dies and because of photography mixed with fate she was able to spend months with her daughter."

"You forgot something, Bella."

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows tied together in confusion.

"Yes, photography and fate contributed to Taban and her mother reuniting but _you_ were the reason she got see her face again. Without you going out and putting yourself in danger and risking your life, they would never had seen each other again."

"No, no, no that could've happened to any photographer. I just happened to be there at the right time."

I can't stand what she's saying right now. How could she not see how she played a role in this?

"That is not true Bella. I know for a fact that there are extremely few people like you who would willingly go undercover into a kidnappers house and free his captives knowing that one wrong move and you would be executed."

She wasn't looking at me. I can't speak to her like this.

I place my finger under her chin and turn her head so her eyes look into mine. _S_ _crew personal space._

"Bella, promise me that you know how much you matter."

I wipe away a tear with her thumb as she looks at me with a face that shows raw pain, wisdom, and compassion.

There's a second where we're just looking at each other, studying each other's expressions trying to put each other together like a jumbled puzzle. My thumb still rests on her cheek and I swear I had never been so close to kissing anybody in my life. It wasn't sexual, though, I just wanted to be there for her. Show her how much I cared about her and that everything was going to be alright. _I can't stand to see her cry._

But, a second too soon, Bella stands up and reaches her hand out to pull me up.

"C'mon. The sun's rising so I think that's a sign we need some sleep."

I say the words I really don't want to. "I'll call us an Uber and we can head home."

I feel like a little boy who doesn't want to go home after summer camp. Couldn't we just stay a few more minutes?

Everything must come to an end, though, so we pack up our leftover food in silence as the car pulls up and we walk down the hill.

Bella and I get into the car and we are both silent trying to digest what had happened up on that hill.

How could somebody as gentle and compassionate as her bear to see so much pain? This girl's limits always amaze me and each new aspect of her that I discover is more incredible than the last. She was such a breath of fresh air compared to the stuck-up Hollywood people I am used to spending my time with. The most interesting thing any of those people can say about themselves is that they had drinks with Martin Scorsese once or something. Bella, on the other hand, was freeing slaves in Afghanistan making an actual difference in this world before she was even at a legal age to drink. _She_ is the kind of person I want to be around and spend my life with.

About ten minutes into the drive, I feel a weight gently fall on my shoulder. I turn and see Bella's head resting on my shoulder as she rests. The passing city lights cast shadows on her face and I see the shadows of her long eyelashes dance over her face. _She was so perfect._

Even though she was sleeping and therefore didn't conciously know she was resting her head on my shoulder, I still have a strong feeling of happiness with her so close to me. Maybe one day I will be deserving of her.

"Edward?" Bella says with a sleepy voice. _She was awake the whole time?_

"Hm?" I try and regain my breath. Just having her head resting near mine makes my breath uneven.

"Thank you."

"For what, Bella?" I suddenly have no control over my body movements and my cheek comes down to rest on her head. I needed to be closer and she does the same as she burrows deeper into my neck.

"For everything."

EEEEEEEEPPPPPP!

What do we think you guys? Leave a review. PRETTY PLEASE?!

As always, visuals are in my profile.

I'm going to be writing a ton this weekend so I will be posting soon.

Love you!

xx, S


	12. Two Worlds Collide

**A/N:**

 **Hello beautiful people!**

 **I promise I'm here. School is crazy as always and writing hasn't been coming very easily. Thankfully, I pushed through for you all and wrote a 4k chapter for you! Don't you love me?**

 **This chapter is a lead up to a night and I think you all will like it. We get to find out more about the reasons why Edward and Bella are entering their relationship carefully and why they are doubtful about someone being interested in them.**

 **We also get to briefly meet Bella's six surfer best friends Leila, Dylan, Alec, Brody, Camille, and Alana.**

 **This is going to be a fun night you guys.**

 **I promise I'll start the new chapter soon so I can get it up in a week.**

 **Ok? Ok.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW! I get really sad when I only see two reviews on a chapter :( Make me happy!**

 **VISUALS LINKED IN MY PROFILE, as always ;)**

 **xx, S**

* * *

"Fucking shit!" I jolt my head to the right and see Edward tapping away at his phone with a furious look on his face.

"Edward? What happened?" He better not have been dropped from a role or something.

Instead of answering my question, he responds with a "Move your fugly bitch ass out of the way."

"What the fuck, Edward?" I am out of my seat in seconds and right in front of him with my fists clenched.

Looking down, I see flashing lights coming from his phone and peer over at whatever is distracting him from explaining why he just called me a "fugly bitch ass".

On Edwards screen are little bobbing alien looking things that are shooting green balls at zombies.

"HELL YEAH!" Edward shoots up just when I see a "COMPLETE!" flash across his screen.

After his mini celebration, he sees the furious look at my face. _About time._

"What's going on?"

"Well, thanks to your intense game of plants versus zombies, you almost had my fist connect with your nose when I thought you called me a, and I quote, fugly bitch ass."

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry. Alice got me to download this game and I haven't been able to quit since I got it a few days ago."

"You're getting off this time, Cullen, but the next I'm not going to give you time to explain yourself."

"Understood. Also, I meant to tell you that Sam only needed me for that one scene so I think we're good to go for the day."

Hell. Yes. It was a Friday and to be honest I've been so busy that I haven't even had time to comprehend what happened last night...

Last night.

I never really opened up about my past with my career, but with Edward I felt safe. Usually I feel uncomfortable and like I'm in danger all over again, but Edward kept me present and my mind didn't wander. He made me feel like I mattered.

Our talk over the city lights was one of the most meaningful ones that I can remember and he truly solidified the feelings that I have for him. Even if he and I never turn into anything, which realistically speaking someone like me would never deserve someone like him, I still have very strong feelings for him as a friend. Edward is such an amazing, kind soul who only deserves the best in life and therefore the best girl. The baggage and skeletons in my closet are too burdening for anybody like him. He has a perfect life and I don't; I would never drag him into mine. He's just too good.

The only way I could ever let him in would be if he initiated it and had full disclosure about my past. Pretty much every guy runs for the hills when I let them in about myself, so I don't see why Edward wouldn't; because of that, I am never the one to make the first move. If by some odd chance Edward ever does make a move, I doubt he will stick around with someone as damaged as myself.

When we got in the car last night, a mix of exhaustion and pure desire took over me as I laid my head on his shoulder. Yes, it was a ballsy move, but the feeling of being so close to him was entirely worth it. It was one of the moments where I couldn't think about what I was doing and just had to do it and try not to worry about the response. All of my fears about his response evaporated when I felt Edward's stubble against my head and I realized that his head was leaning on mine. We stayed like that until we got back to set, said goodbye, and drove our separate ways.

When I woke up this morning, though, I was in a panic over what happened. Was it going to affect our relationship? Did we fuck up? How awkward will it be?

With that being said, I was reluctant to knock on the door of his trailer this morning; I seriously considered making a run for it and calling sick. Thank god I didn't though because he was looking ever better than usual today. I didn't even know that was possible.

Luckily, this morning everything seemed normal and I didn't sense any tension or awkward space between us. I think we both came to the silent agreement that what happened happened and that it didn't need to be discussed. It was a moment and our "PDA" in the car isn't something that needs to be brought up at this point in our relationship. Maybe one day, but not today.

We both pack up our bags and start our walk across set toward the parking lot where we parted ways only hours before.

"NOOOOOOOOO" I jump as Edward yells this at his phone with a devastated look on his face.  
"What? Did the zombies invade your precious garden?" The guy was twelve years old at heart and it's ridiculous.

'No, sassafrass, but one of my favorite bands of all time is coming to LA tonight and I went to buy tickets weeks ago, but I just realized they never went through and now the show is completely sold out. Maybe I can get my agency to get tickets but it's probably too last minute right now."

I stop in front of his grey Range Rover as he is scrambling through his contacts trying to find someone to help him.

"What's the band? Maybe I can help." With my job, just shooting one band is like shooting sixteen because of the contacts you develop through working at the show. You really never know what connections you'll make at concerts.

"I doubt it. The band's Alt-J and they're so big right now I bet their guest lists fill up months before the show is even announced."

 _That's where it's highly beneficial to know people, Mr. Cullen._

"Well, I don't know, maybe you know the band's photographer and long time friend who has unlimited space on the guest list."

"Hah. I wish."

"You don't know the language of sarcasm, do you?"

 _Dumbass._

"What are you talking about?" I stare at him for a good 30 seconds as I wait for him to figure it out. After about a minute I see him finally complete the puzzle.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" He looks at me with disbelief.

"I know it's hard to believe considering who you are, but you don't have to be a celebrity to have connections. How many tickets and passes do you want?" I say with a smug smile.

"Oh my god I have to tell everyone they all were so fucking mad," Edward says in a frazzled, jumbled mess, "How? What? Why? I mean, um, thank you a million times. Honestly."

"Text me the number of people and they're yours."

"Did I ever tell you you're amazing?" Edward says with a smile like a little boy who just won the biggest prize at the fair.

"You know it. I'll see you tonight. Text me when you're there and we'll set up a time to meet up."

"Awesome. I'll introduce you to my friends, and bring definitely bring Emmett and Rosalie since Jasper and Alice will be there too."

I flip my sunglasses down as I start to walk away toward the other lot where my car's parked as I shout over my shoulder, "It's a plan, Cullen." And turn the corner and out of sight.

EPOV

I jump in my Range Rover and immediately call Alice.

"I don't want to fucking talk about it," she starts as she picks up the phone, "how could you be such an idiot and forget to press confirm and make us _all_ miss an opportunity to see Alt-fucking-J?"

"Is Jasper near you?" I say as I cut off Alice's meaningless rant

"Yes, and he's just as mad at you as I am."

"Put the phone on speaker. I'm adding in James and Mike to the call."

"Umm… Ok? But to be honest I'm not in the mood to have a 5-way call to talk about a concert that, thanks to you, we aren't attending."

"Just do it, Alice."

"Ugh. Whatever."

After a few seconds, I hear everyone connect.

"Yo." Jasper says

"Whaddup Mister I-don't-know-how-to-buy-concert-tickets" James jokes as he joins in

"What's this about? Lauren and I are in the middle of a COPS marathon so this better be good." Mike adds.

"Well, we are gathered here today to-"

"Cut the humor, Edward, a cop just arrested a man streaking on ecstacy singing "I'm A Believer" and stealing quarters from a little girl's lemonade stand so cut to the chase so I can get back to watching."

"Fine. We're going to Alt-J tonight."

"Good one, Edward, but in case you didn't realize the tickets have been sold out for months." Alice says with a huff

"Well, thanks to my wonderful photographer Bella who happens to be a good friend of the band _and_ their photographer, we all have tickets and VIP passes."

"No way" Jasper yells

"Your hot photographer that you want to fuck the shit out of got us tickets? HELL YEAH!" James booms.

"Oh my god! I only have an hour to do my makeup then! Gottagobye" Alice is gone just like that.

"So what's the plan dude? We all hanging out before the show or what?" Mike asks

"Seriously, I need to meet this girl and make sure she's good enough for you." Mike's girlfriend, Jessica, adds in as she grabs the phone from him.

"I'm going to text her and see what's the plan and I'll let you all know."

"Sounds good."

"Make sure you relive some tension before tonight. Lord knows your honry ass will need it."

Hanging up the phone, I roll my eyes as I hear James and Mike laughing at Jasper's immature, but true, comment. I open my texts and search through until Bella's name appears.

 _Hey, thanks so much again. We're super excited for tonight. 6 passes would be awesome if that's ok._

Right after I hit send, I lift my eyes to see Riley walking through the door.

"Hello Eddie my love"

I flip him off as he plops down on the couch next to me. _The fucker knows the name Eddie makes me gag._

"Speaking of Bella," he says nodding towards the text message still on my phone screen, "I have some good news."

"What?"

"Well, I just sat down with your social media manager, and since you've had Bella which hasn't been long at all, the likes, views, and shares have gone up by 40 percent already and you're gained thousands of more followers than usual."

"No shit? I knew Bella was amazing and she was going to help improve my social outlets, but I didn't expect the effects to take place for a couple more weeks."

"Same here. I guess she really does know what people want and don't want to see. How is your guys' relationship going?" He raises an eyebrow towards me.

"Great, we really vibe well together. I'm seeing her tonight, actually."

Riley's eyebrows shoot up as I say this. "You guys are already going out?"

"No, no, not like that. To make a long story short, I never got tickets to Alt-J's show tonight and they sold out but she's getting us passes. You want to join us?"

"Hell yeah. That sounds awesome." Riley says as he gets up.

"It's at the Club Nokia and I think we're all meeting at 7 for drinks before at The Goose. I haven't heard back from Bella yet, but I assume we'll just see her at the show."

"Sweet. I'm just dropping off some scripts at your desk for you to look at sometime, but I'll see you tonight."

"See ya." I laugh as I slap Riley's ass when he gets up and walks out the door.

 **buzz buzz**

 _Hey you. I just finished shooting their soundcheck and it's going to be a hell of a show. Let me know if you need any other passes._

I feel like an idiot for being feeling giddy about her "hey you" introduction and getting butterflies about seeing her outside of work tonight. I think the last time I was nervous about seeing a girl was in the fourth grade so this is very foreign to me.

 _Awesome. We can't wait. Can you add one on for Riley? Also, my friends and I are having drinks at The Goose before the show and you're more than welcome to join if you need a break._

 _Not a problem. I wish I could take a break, but before the show is always the most hectic time. Can we meet up for post-show drinks? I'll have some friends with me._

 _Hell yeah. It's going to be great to get everyone together._

 _Totally. Despite my protest, I think the band's bringing me up to play a song. I'm going to shit myself, I think._

I don't know if I'm ready to see her sing again, I'm still recovering for the first time. She's like a walking sex goddess when she preforms, so I know my very straight, male friends will appreciate her performance greatly, to put it lightly; God knows I'll enjoy it.

"I'm now going to need a really extra-long shower before this." I grumble to myself.

 _Hell yeah! You'll do great. See you tonight._

 _Looking forward to it :)_

Leaving my spot on the couch, I walk up to the front hall mirror and stare at myself in my reflection. I need a good shave and a shower if I'm going to be seeing her tonight. Will tonight be the night I make my move? I know I want to eventually, but would this be too soon? All our friends will be there, so I don't know if it's a good time, but who knows, maybe this will be the only time we hang out outside of work?

This is fucking frustrating. I feel like a total girl worrying about how I look in front of somebody else and freaking about an event that isn't even a date. I never am the one who panics about relationships because I've never felt like I've had to win anybody over. It's not an ego thing, but it's just a fact that girls have always been the ones to approach me first. But with Bella, I feel like I need to be the one to impress her. She's such a special soul that even she knows that she should be selective about who she spends her time with. With the guilt-ridden past of mine, it would be hard for me to ever enter a bright light like Bella into the darkness that lurks in the back wherever I go. My life before this was never easy and it still is not. There is a lot of debt I owe to many people and the choices I made in the past have split me in two. I could never involve Bella in any of this. It's the right thing to do… right? If by some off chance we get into a relationship, I owe it to her to fully disclose everything about myself, the good and the bad. All I can hope right now is that if that day comes, she won't run. But from my experience with relationships, she probably will. It's just how it goes.

BPOV

"AGHH" I let down an obnoxious groan as I slam my phone down on the table in front of me.

"What's wrong with you?" I feel the right side of the couch sink in and I look up to see Gus, the keyboardist, looking at me with a concerned look.

"Eh, nothing that you need to worry that pretty little head of yours about." I smile at him.

"I didn't know you had a new guy, Bella."

"What do you mean? I'm not with anyone."

"Bells, you know I have four sisters. That "what's wrong with you" was me giving you a chance to tell the truth, I knew that "AGHH" had something to do with a guy. It's been written all over your face this past week of rehearsals."

"You have a new guy?!" Joe, the lead singer and guitarist, Thom, the drummer, and Gwil, the guitarist and bassist, enter the room suddenly interested in my love life.

"Sorry." I hear Gus say under his breath

"No, I do not. Gus over here was just jumping to conclusions."

"Dude, she did the stressed out groan and threw her phone on the table. She definitely has a guy." Gus says to the band.

"What's his name?" Joe plops on the couch next to me

"He doesn't have one because he doesn't exist." I say rolling my eyes.

"Bullshit." Gwil adds.

 **buzz buzz**

 _Oh no._

"Text message from EDWARD CULLEN?!" Joe grabs my phone bringing it closer to his face as if Thom's announcement about my text from Edward wasn't loud enough.

"No fucking way." Gwil's staring at me like I have three heads.

"It isn't anything, you guys are overreacting." I say as I grab my phone back.

"Then may I ask why you angrily threw your phone down when he texted you?"

"It wasn't from him. It was just his manager giving me more work."

"Hey guys, the venue needs you to soundcheck Taro. For some reason we forgot to do it." Their manager says as he pokes his head in on us.

They all stand up and go to join him. "Whatever you say, Bells." Jim calls over his shoulder right before shutting the door.

The truth was that Riley never texted me, and the text from before was actually from Edward. I was frustrated because I was so nervous about tonight. What do I do? I will be around my friends and his so how should we act around each other? I don't want it to be obvious that I like him but I don't want to be a stone-cold bitch.

All of these thoughts have been occupying my mind like annoying kindergardeners that don't know how to shut up. I put my headphones in and turn on my music at the loudest setting to try and silence my anxious thoughts.

It doesn't work.

EPOV

"ALICE!" I scream this down the stairs right when I hear the door slam.

I feel like half of my hair is about to fall out from the amount of times I've pulled on it trying to pick out my outfit tonight. How the hell do stylists do this shit?

"Edward Cullen, please step away from your closet and let me do my job." I hear her little feet run up the stairs coming to my rescue. My bedroom door flings open and Alice has a look that could kill as she b-lines to my closet. For the next five minutes, clothes are flung across the room until Alice reemerges with a stack of clothes.

"Undress."

"Yes master." I say as I take off my clothes and put on the ones she handed to me. I turn around to face Alice and she stares at me with a blank expression on her face.

"Well?" Why hasn't she said anything?

"I'd fuck you."

"Ew, Alice, filter please."

"I'm just saying! Bella's definitely going to be all over you tonight."

"I'm not looking to hook up with her. She isn't that kind of girl and I don't want to be that kind of guy. She deserves better." I lean against my bed and cross my arms.

Suddenly, Alice walks across the room to hug her tiny body around me squeezing me unbelievably hard.

"Um, Alice, you know I love you, but why are you hugging me?"

"I don't know, I just love seeing you this way. You seem different and in a very good way; you seem truly happy."

I wrap my arms around her and tuck her head under mine.

"I feel really happy, Alice. I love you."

"Love you too." She pecks me on the cheek and runs down the stairs.

"Don't worry about tonight, you'll be great! I'll see you in an hour." Alice shouts as she closes the door behind her and pulls out of my driveway.

BPOV

"T minus ten minutes, Bells."

"Thank you." I say over my shoulder as I organize my lenses and try to make sure they're ready to be switched at moments notice during the show.

Right as I get them set, I hear the rumble of footsteps going up the stairs to the green room get louder and louder.

The door swings open as my three best guy-friends from surfing, Dylan, Brody, and Alec, burst in as Dylan scoops me up in a huge bear hug which is followed up with kisses and hugs from Brody and Alec.

"Yo bitch!" I see Emmett walk in with Rose and Jake not too far behind him as they both hug me once Dylan puts me down.

My three best surfing girlfriends Alana, Camille, and Leila enter the room and immediately jump on me even though it's only been two days since I last saw them; but hey, two days is like two years for us.

Dylan, Brody, Alec, Camille, Alana, Leila, and I have all been surfing together for more years than we can count. They're all like siblings to me and the boys are like my American big brothers. Since my actual brother, Angus, is back in Australia, it is really nice to have Dylan, Brody, and Alec since I am often missing Angus immensely. Camille, Alana, and Leila are indescribable to me; they're truly sisters.

The whole green room erupts into greetings and laughter as we all group together. I was back with my family and it made me feel on top of the world.

"Who wants drinks?" Emmett yells from the bar in the corner in the room

Everybody rattles off their orders as I set up my cameras. I never drink while photographing, especially at night, because I see the drink after the shoot as a little prize for doing my job.

"So Bells." Alec comes up behind me and puts his arm around my shoulder as everybody in the room looks at me as if I'm about to drop huge news, except I don't know what the news is.

"What am I missing here?"

"*Cough* Edward Cullen *Cough*" Leila says in the corner of the room.

"Oh god." I say with a little smile as I pick up the camera and head towards to door to go side stage. Rose and Emmett can't keep a secret, especially when alcohol's in the mix, and they all have definitely been pregaming. _I should've known they were going to spill._

A mashup of responses in come in response to the Edward comment as I'm walking out.

"Can't wait to meet him!"

"His bed or yours tonight?"

"I swear to fucking god, Bella, if he breaks your heart my surfboard is going through his neck!"

"Can I be an extra in his next film?"

"Don't forget to use condoms!"

"BYE, YOU GUYS." I say slamming the door behind me silently chuckling to myself as I run down the stairs and put my inears in.

"Alright everybody, get in your places, house music down, black out." A continuation of technical orders about the show comes through my inear until I get to my spot and double check everything's in order.

I feel so alive tonight knowing that I have my sister, brother in law, and the rest of my family in the back and Edward in the crowd. I just know that Alice, Jasper, and Edward will love all my friends considering how well that got along with Emmett and Rose. There's an odd sense of comfort knowing that Edward is in the same building as me, and to be honest, it is very weird to feel that. Is this what it's like to have feelings for someone?

The lights start going and the heavy sound of bass starts signaling the opening of the show. Poking around the curtain, I see an ocean of thousands of people all cheering for the boys. My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I see a text from Edward.

 _Crush it out there for me. Text me when you're finished and we'll meet up. See you soon. –E_

Smiling, I put my phone back in my pocket, run out into the ocean of concertgoers, and start firing, doing what I love the most.

* * *

 **Yours truly ;)**

 **-S**


	13. Acquainted

**A/N:**

 **I'm back, my favorite people!**

 **I'm sorry this chapter was delayed... it's 9k words so it took awhile to write. I hope it is worth it!**

 **I think this chapter will be well-loved by you guys... our favorites finally stop beating around the bush... About damn time.**

 **This chapter is for Jackie ( thejackiebass on twitter) who was the first person to ever read this fic and she was the one who convinced me to post it. And because of that, I wrote this chapter with The Weeknd in it just for her ;) Love you, girl, and thank you so much for all your support.**

 **Without further ado, read, look at the visuals, and REVIEW!**

 **Love you all... I think you'll love me too after this one ;)**

 **xx**

* * *

Acquainted

EPOV

"Hey, we're on the guest list under Edward Cullen." The security guard hands us all passes as we turn to head into the venue.

After scanning all our IDs, we were gained access and entered the venue followed by jealous groans of everybody waiting in line.

Security opens up large double doors that lead us into a large mass of fans packed in the room waiting for the show to begin. Considering the amount of people still in line, it's amazing that the venue can fit so many bodies into one large space.

"Who wants drinks?" Booms James as he heads to the venue bar towing a girl he picked up within seven seconds at the previous bar we were at.

The rest of us all try and make our way over to the VIP seating that has white modern couches and a glass table with a security guard standing by it. This takes much longer than any other normal person, though, because once I entered about the whole crowd came over and asked for a picture. After about twenty, I told them I had to go even though there were still a gigantic group still waiting. With fans stopping me in public, I used to spend hours tending to each and every one of them, but too many times I wasn't able to accomplish what I needed to do. A simple trip to pick up milk took about an hour instead of five minutes and it was taking a huge toll on the time I had in a day. Now, I try to tend to as many people as possible, but now I say no to more people because I need to enjoy my life, too. I felt guilty about it for a long time at first, but I am starting to understand more and more that I need to lead a normal life so I won't go insane by age thirty.

"Are you the Cullen party?" The guard standing by the VIP area asks.

"Yeah, that's us"

"The lady who photographs the band wanted me to let you know that I'll be here to make sure nobody can get into where you all are sitting. She was worried about fans coming up to you all during the show, so I'm here to make sure you don't have to worry about that."

"Bless you heart, man," I say as I give his hand a firm, appreciative shake and slip him a hundred dollar bill in thanks.

Once we sit, we all break into light-hearted conversation and laughter. Knowing that I don't have to worry about being disturbed in a public place is one of the best feelings and I feel ten pounds lighter. On top of that, the mix of alcohol and best friends is ought to bring out a much more carefree side of us, and this was proven when Mike and Alice started dancing on the tables to the house music which happened to be Katy Perry. Spending time with everyone made the time fly by incredibly fast, and before I knew it, the lights were dimming. Before the show starts, I pull out my phone and send an encouraging text, smiling as I send it.

I truly can't wait to see her tonight.

"Is that the lucky lady?" I look over to see Jasper standing by my side, having noticed the shit-eating grin on my face.

The blush that betrays me says it all, and Jasper slaps his hand on my back. "I'm happy for you, Man. Whether or not you guys turn into anything, I'm glad you have another person in your life who makes you happy."

"I am too." It was true. Looking around my table, I already am incredibly lucky to have the people I do in my life, especially considering these people with me right at this moment are only a fraction of the people I consider friends.

The heavy sound of bass starts to pound through the speakers as beams of blue light flash across the stage and the band walks on. All of Club Nokia is lit up with flashing lights and the intro music rings through the venue along with the exponentially loud sounds of cheers. The lights come up and they open up with one of my favorite songs and the concert continues flawlessly.

While I was watching the show, I couldn't help but periodically glance around the edges of the stage trying to find someone with a camera who could be Bella, but I continued to see nothing. I assume after years of doing this, she knows the crowds' blindspots and the best places to get shots without being in their line of sight. Around the fifth song, though, I saw a flash of a small silhouette appearing from behind the curtain and standing in front of the scaffolding that was holding up the lights above. Above the stage, I notice a narrow bridge where I assume a crew member stands while installing lights that looks over the whole venue. This silhouette climbs up the scaffolding effortlessly, and wiggles their body to stand on the bridge. As they turn around, I see a silhouette of a camera hanging on their hip and I realize it's Bella.

I had to do it.

My body takes control as it blocks out my mind and my eyes don't leave her. I shove through the crowd, ignoring the curses of the people I'm pushing aside, and watch her walk to the center of the bridge and get overhead shots of the band and shots of the crowd. What the hell was I doing? My impulsive body took over my rational thought and I have no way to control it. It's like we're two magnets and I can't stand looking at her and not being close.

Looking up again, I keep pushing and see her fire off pictures of the crowd dancing along. After scanning through her pictures and changing the lens in her camera, she walks back to the scaffolding and begins to climb down. As this is happening I am getting closer and closer as I weave in and out of bodies not caring about the people around me. She is carefully taking a step at a time down, and when she has only a few more steps, I am about ten feet away from the base of the scaffolding. After pushing as hard and fast as I can to the very front, I reach the scaffolding right as her legs become eye level to me. My hands extend as I fit them around her small waist, pick her up, and put her down. It was like my hands fit like puzzle pieces around her.

"What the-"

I cut off her confused remark as I pull her back closer to me and put my mouth to her ear. "You wouldn't expect a gentleman like me to not help you down, would you?"

I feel her stomach suck in incredibly fast as she gasps and spins around frantically; her shocked, furious look only dissolves when she sees my face smiling down at her.

"Dear god, I was about to knee you in the balls and scream bloody murder! I thought you were some pervert!" she says laughing at herself with her hand at her heart trying to regain her breathing.

"Hey, I never said I wasn't a pervert." I say with a wink.

 _I needed to turn on the charm tonight. Woo this girl, Cullen. This is your shot._

Now that she was facing me, I wrap my right arm around to the small of her back and pull her flush against me. Her eyes wide and become a dark green instead of her normal light green. _She was turned on. 10 points for you, Cullen._

I sense the heat of her bare skin and look down to realize she is wearing a fucking hot outfit. Her hair was in a middle part and she was wearing a skinny strap black crop top that stopped at the top of her waist paired with black pants that clinched her tiny waist with black heels. The outfit revealed her toned middrift and the lack of sleeves revealed all of her tattoos. _All of the ones below the surface, at least._

I bend down and bring my mouth to her ear once again. She leans her neck to the side, this time, urging me to come closer. "You look stunning tonight, Ms. Swan." In response, she pulls away slightly only to look me up and down hungrily.

"As do you, Mr. Cullen." She says when her eyes finish their groping. She slightly pulls herself closer to me and arches her back lightly so her stomach is pressing harder against mine.

"And thank you for helping me down." She adds, looking up at me.

"It was my pleasure." I notice that she was wearing a smokey eye that made her eyes stand out and it was sexy as hell; she looked dangerous and incredibly hot. After a moment of staring into her green eyes and her doing the same, I decide to cut this off.

Rule #1 of women: always leave them hanging.

Slowly, I lean in closer, and the closer I get the more hungry her eyes become.

 _That's it, get her to take the bait..._

When I am only centimeters away from her, I come to a halt.

"I'll see you tonight, Bella." I whisper in a voice dripping of lust.

And just like that, I pull away and start heading back to the table where all my friends are. It was so incredibly hard to pull away at that moment, but I knew it would most definitely benefit me tonight. If there's anything I do specifically with women, it is plenty of teasing and flirting before I make the first move. This method has yet to fail me and it always makes the first move much more impactful. It takes a hell of a lot of willpower and self control to only flirt and not actually do anything, but it always makes women more interested. Plus, it's funny as hell to watch them squirm.

Walking away from Bella, though, is by far the hardest thing I've had to do with any woman; it's like we have a pull that is a thousand times harder to break. I almost lost myself in that moment and actually kissed her instead of pulling away as planned. All I can say is that when I make a solid move on her, whenever that may be, it will be fucking deserved on both ends.

For now, my heating bill for all my extra-long showers I will have to take will be frighteningly high.

BPOV

"You look stunning tonight, Ms. Swan."

By the end of this night, I was going to be lying in my grave if he keeps talking to me like this. Like a gravitational pull, I push myself against him and reciprocate. Edward Cullen tonight was not the same Edward Cullen from a couple hours before. This version was incredibly forward, even more charming, and frankly, sexy as hell. It may sound cliché, but each time I see him he's hotter than I remember and he exceeds any standards that I may have. I now understand more than ever why millions of girls have pictures of him hanging in their bedrooms. I'm also going to make sure to say my prayers every night that there's a shirtless scene in Scarlet coming up soon because it would be a damn good day at work to watch him walk around shirtless.

Tonight I could tell he was styled by Alice because he was looking tailored as hell. He was wearing a navy blue coat over a grey tshirt, fitted jeans and black laceup oxfords. He wasn't too overdressed, but wasn't too casual. His hair was its perfectly messy, but sleek self and had more height at the top with shorter sides. He's the kind of guy that any woman would uncontrollably stop dead in their tracks if they saw him walking down the street. As a matter of fact, when I look over Edward's shoulder, I see that any female in our line of sight has stopped watching the concert and instead are watching Edward's ass. _Sorry, ladies, but that ass has "Property of Bella Swan"_ _written all over it._ I

start to blush when I realize it is becoming very evident that I was staring Edward down, probably with hungry eyes, too. _What? A girl has her needs._

Glancing back at him after practically stripping him with my eyes and then giving any girl the "fuck off' look, I look back at him right in his perfect blue eyes "As do you, Mr. Cullen. And thanks for helping me down."

"It was my pleasure."

We stayed staring at each other and I lost myself in his bright blue-green eyes. He has light stubble that only defines his incredibly sharp jawline even more. Honestly though; how does can a jaw be so fucking sharp? Edward was by far the most striking person I had even seen in my whole life.

I am woken up from my lustful daze when I realize Edward has leaned in so our noses are only an inch away.

 _Oh my holy god._

 _Is this happening?_

 _He's going to kiss me._

 _I'm doing this._

 _Holy shit._

Right when I am about to reciprocate and lean in to place my lips on his, he abruptly steps back and squeezes my hand.

"I'll see you later tonight, Bella."

And within moment's notice, he's gone.

Was this some sort of prank?

Edward was about three seconds away from kissing me, and then he flipped like a switch and walked away like nothing ever happened. Now, I'm standing in front of a huge stage with thousands of people, with my jaw dropped, turned on as hell.

EPOV

I walk back to rejoin the table with a smug-ass smile on my face. When I looked back and saw her jaw drop I knew I had done it right.

"Where the hell did you go?" Jessica says when I get back to group

"You acted like you saw your favorite celebrity or something; you b-lined it to the front." Alice says

"I just saw Bella, that's all." I saw talking a sit of my drink nonchalantly

"Ohhhhhh shit. What did you do to get that smug ass smile on your face, Cullen?" Mike asks with a smirk on his face.

"I bet thirty bucks you just pulled a quickie." James says wagging his eyebrows at me.

"I did nothing! I'm completely innocent. I just said hello then left."

"I bet another thirty bucks on top of James's that you didn't _just_ say hello." Alice adds

"If I'm being honest, it was hard to only say hello; she looks fucking amazing." I say groaning. "And Alice, thanks to your styling, I am almost 100% positive I got an eye fuck out of her." I say high-fiving her.

"There's a reason why it's my profession, big bro."

"So, when are we going to see her? You need to keep it in your pants until I give my stamp of approval." Jessica says pointing a finger at me.

"Once the show's done she'll probably pack up then I was thinking we could go out to the new club, Masen, down the street. She has a group of friends with her and she says they're all cool so I expect they'll come too."

There are animated sounds of approval and we all are excited for after the show.

After a few more songs, the band says their thank yous before playing the last song.

"Also, when we finish this song," The lead singer starts, "if you all could squeeze together, our incredible photographer who has shot everybody from us to Fleetwood Mac, is going to come out and we'll take a group picture with you all. Sounds good?"

The crowd all cheers wildly and the band begins the final song.

Mike and James nudge me after their announcement. "Excited to see this mystery chick, Bro." Mike says

"Ugh I cannot wait to see what she's wearing!" _Typical Alice comment._

We all watch the band go wild for their last song and we all are dancing and singing more and more as the show goes on.

Too soon, the song ends, and the guys all take a bow wiping off their sweaty bodies and chugging water.

Once again, the lead singer steps up to the mic and asks if everybody's ready for the picture.

"THIS KID ISN'T READY" Jasper yells ear-splitting loud while pointing at me and I slap him in the arm as our group breaks into laughter.

Right then, I see a black figure stand on the side of the stage with a camera. It's Bella.

I get the group's attention and point to the silhouette of long hair, a camera, and heels standing in the corner. "There she is." I say with a smile I couldn't even try to contain.

"Bells, come out here and take the mic and tell us what to do."

She walks into the light and she's even more beautiful than she was only an hour before. I can now see her better, and her cropped shirt revealing her abs was hot as hell and her five-inch heels made her legs, that I now had a spectacular view of, go on for miles. Her long hair was straight, long, and hit about a few inches above her butt. She was perfect.

"Holy. Fucking. Shit." I turn and James's eyes are bulging out of his head and Mike's jaw is dropped just like Jasper's when he first saw Bella. I see Jasper wink at me with his arm around Alice and Alice had her hands at her mouth while bouncing up and down in her seat.

Bella takes her big-ass camera off her shoulder and picks up the mic.

"Alright LA let's see how dysfunctional we are." Bella says with her typical heavy accent.

Everybody laughs because if anything's true in this world, it's that no matter how intelligent a group of people can be, getting a large group together for a picture where someone isn't moving, blinking, or sneezing is tough shit to do.

"Everybody squeeze together so I can get as many people in the picture as possible. Keep in mind a lens can only fit a certain amount of space into a picture, so if you get cut off, then don't kill me. Sorry." The crowd laughs again at her blunt humor as the band gathers at the edge of the stage putting their arms around each other for the picture. Bella walks as far back as possible and up to a platform a couple feet above the ground and starts to set up her camera. She starts naming off orders for the band to move left, right, forward, backwards, etc until they're perfectly centered.

"Alright, on the count of three, nobody blink, sneeze, or move. Ready?" Everybody cheers in response.

"One, two, three, TEQUILA!" She says and all 2,500 of us cheer "TEQUILA" with our hands up as Bella fires off a couple pictures.

"The moment of truth" she says with a dramatic voice when she opens up the picture on her camera.

"Perfect!" She says throwing up her hands in celebration and everybody claps and cheers in response. "Want to see the picture?" she says walking down the steps of the platform back on stage.

Everybody screams, and somehow Bella transfers the picture on her camera to the giant projector that was displaying visuals during the show.

The picture couldn't be better. You could see almost all 2,500 people and everybody looked so happy, including the band. Everybody apparently has the same opinion as me, though, because the crowd explodes once again.

"Thank you so much LA for cooperating and look for this picture on Alt-J's social media and make sure to tag yourself. Get home safe, everybody." Bella and the band wave and walk off the stage.

"Well, she's a fucking looker." Jessica says as the house lights go up.

"Seriously, dude, where can I get a personal photographer looking like that?" James says.

"Yes, she's stunning, but wait till you meet her. Her personality is even more gorgeous." I say.

"AWWW! My brother's converted from a man-slut to a romantic!" Alice says wrapping her arms around me. I dramatically roll my eyes and try to contain my smile as everybody laughs.

When I leave the seating area at the end of the show, I have another line of several people, mostly girls, screaming and grabbing me, asking for pictures. I pose with all them and every single one makes sure to graze my abs or stick their hand in my hair. I even had many girls ask me to father their children or fuck them. I always respond as politely as I can, but it is obviously quite weird to be asked that on a daily basis.

Once the venue almost empties out and there are only a few people left, I breathe a sigh of relief. I love my fans, but damn is it exhausting to do that every fucking day.

I flip off Japser, Mike, and James as the all run up to me with linked arms and start fake-crying, asking to fuck them, and grabbing my hair and pulling at my shirt. My friends can be such idiots, but I love them.

"EDWARD CULLEN I FUCKING LOVE YOU!" I groan as I hear a female voice behind me. The venue was practically empty, how could there be more fans? I had practically taken pictures with every person in the venue already.

Rolling my eyes, I turn around and quickly realize the female voice was not coming from a fan, but as a matter of fact it was Bella.

She was walking towards me having came from backstage looking like a model on a runway and she wasn't even trying. Her tattoos are hot as hell, and she has her inears hanging around her shoulders. She honestly looked like she could be walking in slow motion with the wind in her hair like the characters in those movies who are like the cool badasses. On top of this, the chorus of Freak by Lana Del Rey, which is a very sensual, turn-me-on song for those of you who don't know, is playing through the speakers as she walks towards me. Fucking hell, she was hot. She was laughing at my eyeroll when I realized she was faking as a fan and making fun of the reactions girls have towards me

"I'm going to be perfectly honest, I almost booked it when I thought there was another girl asking to touch my hair." I say when she reaches me

"Hey, I mean I would love to touch it, if you don't mind…" She says is a serious tone.

Was she kidding? She didn't really seem like the Edward Cullen fangirl type. It was kind of weird to ask, to be honest. I quickly glance at my friends and they all have the same creeped out look on their faces.

I look back at Bella and she's looking at me with hope and excitement.

"Um, yeah, sure, I guess. If you want." I slightly lean my head down to her height.

I expect her to run over like most fans and stick her hand in my hair, but she just stands there. Seconds later, she bursts out into laughter, keeling over clutching her stomach.

"Fuck you." I say through my embarrassed laughter. She tricked me, again.

All of my friends are laughing just as hard as she is and Jasper walks over to her and high-fives her, "You're fucking amazing." James says through his laughter.

"You should've seen your face when I asked to touch your hair." Bella says before breaking into another fit of laughter.

"Ha-ha, very funny." I say.

Alice practically jumps into her arms and Bella hugs her back just as hard. "I've missed you, girl! It's been forever!"

"It's literally been over two weeks" Japser says under his breath

"I'm James." James steps up and takes her hand and kisses it. _Fucking kiss-ass._ "It's a great pleasure." He says with his signature charming smile that usually has girls on their knees.

"It's great to meet you, James." Bella says chucking at his charming ways to impress her.

"I'm Mike." Mike says jumping in front of James eagerly sticking out his hand like a horny thirteen-year old boy meeting a Sport's Illustrated model. He practically had hearts in his eyes.

Groaning, Jessica steps up to face her. "Please ignore my boyfriend." She says bumping him over. "I'm Jessica. It's nice to meet you." Bella shakes her hand and says hello with a warm smile.

"Ok. Let me see if I remember this, I'm terrible at names. You're James, you're Mike, and you're Jessica?"

"Yup." They all say.

"Did you all enjoy the show?" Bella asks, leaning against the bar.

"Hell yeah," Mike starts. A crew member walks up behind Bella and disconnects her inears that were connected to the back edge of her pants as she jokingly sticks her butt out at him. "It really was incredible and their lights and sound are insane."

"Right? It takes hours for them to set them up." She says as she wraps up her inears and gives them to the crew member who seems to be a good friend of hers.

"Do you all want to meet the boys? My friends are out grabbing In-and-Out because they were hungry, so we have time to kill while we wait for them before we leave anyways."

"Um, yes!" Alice says bobbing up and down.

As we start our walk to the backstage door, we all break into comfortable conversation about different parts of the show. She already fit in perfectly and I could tell everybody loved her already.

"Any ideas of where we should go?" Bella asks the group as we walk down the hallway.

"I know of a new club called Masen a few blocks away that I thought we could all go to."

"I've heard about that! Sounds great to me." Bella flashes the press pass hanging from the edge of her pants and we get let in backstage. There are crew members organizing, packing up, and moving heavy equipment everywhere. It's incredible the amount of people behind the scenes working on this show.

After passing a couple doors, we enter into what I assume is the green room. The band members are all in there playing games on their phones or packing up their instruments.

The guitarist is the first one to look up and see us walk in, and he nudges the bass player who nudges the rest of the band, and pretty soon they're all staring at me like I have three heads.

"Boys this is Edward Cullen and his sister Alice, her husband Jasper, and his friends Mike, James, and Jessica." Bella says introducing us.

I step up to the bandmates and stick out my hand and introduce myself personally. Instead of reciprocating, they all look at me with that same look as before and after a couple seconds of awkward silence, the lead singer speaks up.

"Yo-you-you're Edward Cullen, like the famous actor Edward Cullen."

"Holy fucking shit." The keyboardist says slowly as if he's about to shit his pants.

"YOU GUYS ARE FUCKING FANBOYS? Why didn't you tell me?!" Bella yells, laughing and making fun of starstruck reaction.

"UM, YEAH, LIKE ERIC FUCKING WILLIAMS IS STANDING IN FRONT OF US AND YOU EXPECT US TO ACT NORMAL?!" The guitarist yells back at Bella but she responds by laughing even harder at the hilarity of the situation. I couldn't help laugh with her because it isn't every day that I see five grown men get starstruck and act like teenage girls. Especially when they themselves are famous.

"Ah, so you all are fans of Restless?" I respond to them in understanding.

Restless was one of my recent projects that I was the lead in, and it was in my top ten most successful films. There was tons of hype around it and it generated about seventy million in its opening weekend, which was pretty good for my movies.

"Um, are you joking? We all went to see it on our day off in Belfast and we fucking loved it. You were seriously incredible in that, dude. We've always been huge fans of your work, but that movie took it to a new level." The lead singer, Joe, who's name I just discovered, said.

"Thank you, it means a lot. You guys were amazing out there tonight."

"Thanks, man. We had a lot of fun. I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

After Bella introduces us all to each other, the door to the green room swings open and the smell or French fries engulfs the room.

"HEYOOOOOOO" A guy in his mid-twenties with dark brown hair and wearing a backwards hat says as he walks in the room. Following him are two other guys, both mid-twenties as well, and one had longish brown hair and the other has blonde hair and is also wearing a backwards hat. If you looked up "good-looking surfer guys" in the dictionary, these three would show up. Glancing toward me, the guy who walked in first catches my eye and he stops dead in his tracks and stares at me.

"Edward Cullen, it's nice to meet you man." All three walk over and give me the "bro high five and slap on the back." I follow along and greet them all, but I am completely confused. _Who the hell were these guys?_

"Children," Bella says jokingly to the three guys, "considering you don't know how to introduce yourselves, I will do it for you. Edward, these are my three best guy friends Dylan, she points to the guy who walked in first with the backwards hat and dark hair, Brody, she points to the blonde-haired one, and Alec, she points to the one with the longish dark hair."

"Shit, man, I'm sorry we didn't say who we were. I bet you thought we were some physco fans who snuck back."

"Hah, it's no problem." I respond.

"And these are my three best girlfriends," Bella says as three gorgeous girls about Bella's age walk in.

"Hi, I'm Camille." The girl with long, wavy brown hair says. "This is Alana and Leila." She says pointing to the other two blondes. All of my friends meet Bella's but the conversations are stopped when see Rose and Emmett walk in the door next.

"FAMILIA!" Emmett booms when he sees us, and scoops up a giggling Alice in a hug. "Please excuse my husband," Rose says as we hug hello while Emmett gives bear hugs to everyone in the room, introducing himself and Rose. The guy was seriously a walking teddy bear.

"Anybody want In-and-Out?" Bella yells over the introductions and small talk. We all say yes and plop down on the green room couches and dig into copious amounts of burgers and fries. I grab an open seat next to Bella, and we start sharing French fries and listening to the conversations around us.

"It's crazy how well everyone connects, right?" She says nodding towards our friend all engaged in animated conversation with someone who they had just met. "I mean, your friends just met my friends only five minutes ago, and Jessica and Alana have already scheduled a lunch date next Friday. It is crazy, isn't it? How everyone can get along like family in such a short amount of time?" I turn to face her before I respond. We lock eyes and I speak while staring right her. "I like to believe some people are meant to be in the same story."

"I like to believe that too." She says in a soft whisper after taking a second to respond, as if it was our little secret.

After more conversation and French fries, we all pack up, say goodbye to the band, and get ready to go to Masen. We pile into an uber and everybody's on cloud nine. I mean, Emmett and James walked out of the venue with their arms around each other singing '80s songs and Camille, Jessica, Mike, and Alana got into a rap battle back in the green room while the other half of the group, including Bella and I, got into a heated debate about whether the dress is white and gold or blue and black. It was shocking how well we all got along.

After the uber driver started playing '90s rap and we all rapped along to every word, he pulled up to the curb and there was a huge line of people waiting to get in.

"Fuck, it's going to be such a long wait. Should we just find somewhere else?" Bella says, groaning at the line that wrapped around the block.

"Not so fast, Swan." I say as I run my fingers through my hair to make sure it's decent, and start my walk right toward the bouncer who thankfully was an attractive female in her early twenties. She was practically stripping me down with her eyes as I walked towards her. I chucked to myself when I saw her grab the wall to steady her stance.

 _This was going to be too easy._

I had to work quick, though, I knew with all the people watching what was happening right now, my location was going all over social media and the paps would be here in minutes.

"Hi." I say once I reach the bouncer, putting on what many girls call my "panty-dropping-smile"

 _Whatever that shit means_

"Hi there," She says crossing her arms to push up her boobs that were already popping out of her tight red dress. "How can I help you?" She says suggestively looking me up and down.

"Well, my friends and I have been wanting to come here for awhile, but we didn't know there would be such a long wait. Could you maybe let us in just this one time?" I say nodding my head back to our group who were all staring at me with shock because of what I was doing.

"Um, " she says glancing over my shoulder and looking at the group. "I will let you in this one time, Mr. Cullen. Just for you." She says in a seductive voice.

 _This girl seriously thought she was hot shit or something_.

"IF," she says pointing her finger at me "I can get a picture and kiss from you." I agree, and we snap a selfie of me kissing her on the cheek and I sign her phone case.

"Thank you so much," I say waving everyone over and slipping her a hundred dollar bill. Once we all get in, I get a shove from Bella who's eyes are bulging in awe. "How the hell did you do that?!"

"Stick with me, Bella, and you'll always get treated well." I say suggestively winking at her. _The Cullen charm is back and better than ever._

Not caring if people see, I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her into the club. There were ribbon dancers hanging from the ceiling and incredible mixes blasting from the speakers. We all weaving in and out of grinding bodies and find a booth for all of us.

"You see," Dylan says to the group as he sits down, "this is why I should've perused acting. I could be famous like Edward and get us to skip lines to exclusive clubs and shit."

"Dylan, you were the lead in the fourth grade play once. I doubt your acting career was going to go far." Camille says rolling his eyes

"Oh, shut up." He says huffing and crossing his arms.

"You all act like brothers and sisters" Jessica says in observation to Bella's friends.

"Yeah, we all went to grade school together, but were never really close until we started surfing around high school." Leila starts, "we became friends from surfing the same beach and became really close. Then one day, this cool Australian girl with tattoos named Bella Swan showed up at our beach, and we all watched her surf in awe. None of us, even the boys, had the balls to go up to her, and Alana, Camille, and I had to listen to the boys fight over who "got her" when neither of them had even spoken a word to her. One day, Bella ran out of wax and she borrowed some from our group, so we all started talking and eventually started surfing together, and now we're all like brothers and sisters." Leila says as she hugs Bella all sentimentally, being sappy.

"AWWWWWWWW" Alec says jokingly as he joins the hug and pretty soon we all are in one gigantic group hug laughing at the ridiculousness of what we were doing. Here were all these super cool LA people and we were in a giant mass hugging each other and being sappy in the middle of a night club, not exactly giving off the cool factor.

"Alright," Emmett says in a manly voice to try and forget what we just did, "Who wants drinks?"

Everybody names off their order and the bartender brings them over almost immediately. _Looks like word spread fast that I was here_.

"Edward, your Jack Daniels," Emmett says passing the drinks down. "Bella, your Manhattan," Once everybody gets their drinks, Bella turns to me.

"To brown liquids." She says clinking our glasses.

"To brown liquids." I say back to her.

The next half hour is filled with storytelling and conversation around the table. A particular highlight was when Alana and Leila told the story about when Bella went out to a party with everyone and she got on one of the folding tables to sing karaoke only to have one of the legs fold in and her go crashing down. The best part is that she went to interview for a local surf shop a few weeks later, the boss's daughter was the girl who Bella fell on when the table collapsed.

We were then told about the time Rose and Bella got kicked out of a bar for damaging glasses while dancing on the tables, excessive loud singing of various Justin Bieber songs, then proceeding to pee in the bar's kitchen sink because they were too drunk to find a bathroom.

Mike then began talking about the time James and I dressed up as cops one Halloween and were almost arrested because we kept on walking up to cops and telling them we have a code red on Spring Street.

To be clear, there was no such thing as Spring Street _or_ a code red.

The whole group was starting to become more and more of a family as minutes passed. It was amazing to watch a large group of people who had never met all get along beautifully.

More stories like these continue throughout the night, and the drinks keep on flowing as everybody gets more and more loose. Eventually we're all happy drunk and tipsy. Bella and I, on the other hand, knew we had a night shoot the next day so we only had a few drinks to be safe.

"Ohhhh shit" I turn when Bella says this and I see that her and her friends are all exchanging glances, clearly thinking the same thing.

"Is this about to happen?" Alana asks Bella

"Is what about to happen?" Mike asks, just as confused as the rest of us.

Turning towards me, Alana leans across the table "Edward, did Bella ever mention the event that occurs when her dance moves and The Weeknd are mixed?"

"No, why?"

Instead of answering, I just see the rest of her friends nodding knowingly as if they are about to shock me. _Can Bella actually dance that well?_

We'll see about that.

"Swan can get down?" I say, turning to her.

She coyly bites her lip and crosses her arms. _Fuck that's hot._

"I guess I dabble here and there."

"Well," I say mocking her crossed-arms, cocky pose, "I would then suggest you to opt out from dancing with me. You know, I would hate to embarrass you."

"Seriously, Bells, the kid can dance," Jasper says backing me up.

"Well, Edward, that's funny because I was just about to suggest the same exact thing to you."

 _That's it. She's coming with me._

I take a swig of my Jack Daniels and place it down, twirling my finger suggestively around the rim of the tumbler. I see Bella out of the corner of my eye and she's staring at my finger's movements like a hawk _. This will be too easy._

Turning to towards her, I slowly lean in with lustful eyes so I'm a few inches from her face.

 _Screw if the whole table's watching._

My hand emerges from under the table and I stick it out for her to grab.

"Try me, Swan." I say in a deep, raspy voice that only she can hear.

Putting on a smug smile, she mimics my movements by slowly taking a sip of her Manhattan, handing her bag to Rose, and moving in even closer to me. She places her hand in mine and stares at me with dark, lustful eyes like mine.

"Lead the way, Cullen"

Without any hesitation, I pull her up, which is followed by cheers from our friends.

"EDWARD AND BELLA DANCE OFF, LET'S GO BOYS." Emmett booms from the table applauding.

As I start weaving through the crowd pulling Bella behind me, I notice all the girls stop dancing as I walk by. Many take a step towards me, pushing their boobs up or hiking up their skin tight dresses, but stop right in their tracks when the see Bella's hand in mine.

As I'm moving through, I also see the men look at Bella hungrily, then see where her hand is and look at me with disgust.

 _That's right, boys, back off._

When I recognize the chorus is coming up, I start to slow down and find our place between the grinding bodies.

When I hear the first words of the chorus, I abruptly turn around, spin her around, and catch her waist pulling it directly against mine. She looks at me with shock at my quick movements, but then narrows her eyes sexily as the bass is about to drop.

Right when it does, she does what I don't expect at all. She spins around so fast I barely notice and presses her backside right against me.

 _I only call you when it's half past five._

We start grinding and dancing on each other to the beat and get totally into the song. They were right, Bella can dance and she has no issue keeping up with me.

 _The only time that I'll be by your side._

The way she dances is as if her hips aren't attached to her body as she circles they fluidly. Her dancing with her ass pressed against my dick had me surprised she couldn't feel my hard on.

 _I only love it when you touch me, not feel me_

When we hear that line, I spin Bella around to face me as I press our stomachs together and circle our hips in sync.

 _When I'm fucked up, that's the real me_ _  
_ _When I'm fucked up, that's the real me, yeah_

She smirks at me when she grabs the back of my neck and pulls me closer to her. Reaching down, I grab her arm and loosely trace the outlines of her tattoos as it rubs down to her hand and I entwine our fingers.

 _I only fuck you when it's half past five_

With both hands entwined, we continue grinding on each other through the ending of _The Hills_ and into _Acquainted_.

Once _Acquainted_ ends, we fall into a fit of laugher and stumble off the dance floor still holding hands.

If you told me this afternoon that Bella and I would be practically dry humping in a few hours, I would've never believed it. I was shocked by Bella tonight and her openness with me. Most girls would've thrown themselves at me at first sight, but Bella was the perfect balance. She played hard to get in a mature way for the first few weeks, but now she is starting to be more forward.

Walking back to the table with her following behind, our whole table starts applauding. Jokingly, Bella takes a bow and scooches back into the booth as I do the same behind her.

"So, who won?" Dylan asks.

Bella and I look at each other with understanding and both say "tie" at the same time.

Everyone keeps on dancing until the club kicks us out at 3 am for closing. We all call ubers back home, and sadly say our goodbyes to everyone. Looking around at everyone hugging, I was once again shocked by how well Bella and I's friends got along so quickly; even with Bella, I could tell she loved my friends as much as I love hers.

While I am walking out of the club, Bella catches up to me with a slightly confused look on her face as she looks around as if she was looking for someone. "Edward, where's Riley? I thought he was coming."

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. He called unexpectedly and cancelled because there was a last minute meeting or something."

"Oh, that sucks. It would've been fun. Next time, though."

As she turns and starts talking to Japser, I remember how weird Riley was on the phone. When I asked why he was canceling, he told me my PR team called a last minute meeting. Although I am not really involved in the going-ons of the PR team, I can't remember them ever having to call a last minute meeting. When I asked him about it, he told me I would thank him when the time came then hung up.

"Hey!" Jasper yells, interrupting everyone's hugs goodbye and my analyzation of Riley and I's conversation. We all turn to see him and Bella standing on the bench outside the club as if they were king and queen making an announcement to their subjects.

"Well, I think it's clear we all like each other." He says as he stares at Emmett and Jessica who had just finished practicing their secret handshake like third graders.

"With that being said," he puts his arm around Bella and continues, "My bestie Bella and I were thinking we should have a party and get together soon because, lets be real, we probably are going to get bored without seeing each other for awhile."

"So, this Saturday which is in four days for those of you who don't know how a calendar works, we're all having a party at Bella's pad."

Dylan, Alec, Alana, Leila, Camille, and Brody explode in cheers and high-fives after hearing this news.

"Guys, get fucking excited because Bella's place is lit" Brody yells

"Seriously, anybody who knows Bella knows that a party at her place can't be missed." Leila adds.

"Alright, you heard them, be there or be square. Bells will text you the address. And since my uber is here, I am bidding you all farewell and I will see you Viernes." Jasper opens up his coat as if they were wings and he was a bat, and makes the two-foot jump off the table and gets into the car with Alice.

"The kid's not going to feel so good in the morning." Brody says in response to Jasper's drunken, Dracula inspired, exit.

We all say our final goodbyes, and I save Bella for last. It's just us now with our ubers waiting and I grab her hand to pull her towards me. She wraps her tiny arms around my waist as I feel her hands brush against the thin cotton of my dress shirt.

I place my hands on her exposed back and wrap my thumbs around to her toned stomach. We continue this hug until I lean my mouth to her ear.

"Don't forget about what happened tonight tomorrow morning." _I sure as hell won't._

"Edward," her hand slowly moves toward the side of my abs, "there's a reason why I stopped drinking after that. And it wasn't just because we have work tomorrow."

With another hug, we turn to leave to our separate rides.

 _Shit, I forgot to tell her._

"Bella," I shout as she turns around in confusion, "text me when you're home, okay?"

"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow night on set." she responds as she turns the corner of the block out of sight.

I jump in the back of the uber and am greeted by a friendly man of about late seventies with a heavy Jamacian accent.

"Where to, sir?"

I rat off my address as he plugs it into his GPS and I close my eyes.

About five minutes into the ride, his voice snaps me out of my rest as I see him looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"That's a very nice lady you have. I don't know her, but I can tell that she has a good heart. You don't let her go, ya hear?"

He must have mistaken the hug outside the club.

"Oh, no, she's not my girlfriend."

He laughs to himself before looking back at me again.

"Well, boy, I'll tell you somethin'" He says with his hoarse voice ridden with age and his heavy accent. "Whether or not you're both too stubborn to admit it, you're both fallin' love. And trust me on this, I've been on this earth a lot longer than you have and I can say I sure as hell know love when I see it."

"Hah, not quite, Sir. I've only known her for about a month now."

"All I'm saying is that you can't control who enters your life and how you react to it. And, you most certainly cannot control _when_ they do. You would be surprised how quickly your mind adapts when it has found the right person. For all you know, you could have been looking for her for years and you finally found her. All those years you spent looking for her you were falling in love with her. Now that person in your head is real, and if you ask me, you're too scared to admit your feelings to yourself."

Was this guy right?

I think if you asked me my ideal girl a year ago, I wouldn't know what to say. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that Bella's been then right one all along. She's strong, funny, charitable, the kindest person I have yet meet, and as the driver said, she most importantly has a damn good heart.

Yes, I did make moves on her tonight and was physically taking steps, but I don't think I've accepted my true feelings yet.

 _Am I actually falling in love with her?_

My rational mind is telling me that I've known her for only a month and therefore it's just lust, but my heart is telling me something different.

And I think it's about time I listen to it.

* * *

 **EEEEEEEEEEP!**

 **You guys! They're so fucking cute (and hot, may I say).**

 **I hope you all loved this and I can't wait to hear what you thought!**

 **xx, S**


	14. Come Find Me

Hey you guys!

A quick update to hold you all over during the holidays. Obviously, due to the holiday here in the US, I will not be writing for the next few days so this is a little cliffy for you.

This chapter I also write because even though it's short, it's REALLY important for plot development.

Hope you all enjoy. This is a heavy one.

* * *

TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of traumatic experiences and abuse that could be a trigger for some.

* * *

I groan at the game of Plants .vs. Zombies that was occupying me while waiting for my ride. Ever since Edward got me into it I have been an addict. I see headlights out of the corner of my eyes and look up to see the Toyota Camry as described by the Uber app.

Running across the street to the car, I whip open the door to escape the sudden cold that creeped over Los Angeles.

"It really is getting chilly out ther-"

My breath hitches.

It feels as though a ginat cobra was wrapping themselves around my lungs.

It feels as though I'm trying to get to the surface of the water but there's a piece of glass trapping me from getting to the top.

It's the smell.

" _You fucking worthless piece of shit_!" _Another bottle of pills goes flying across the room._

 _My young eyes watch as the small white death-wishes fall one by one and scatter themselves across the floor._

" _Please, sweetie, I want to help you." I see my mom with the usual look of helplessness and pleading in her eyes._

" _You want to help me, huh?" The monster that is always hiding under my bed storms across to the room and rips every drawer apart from the cabinet. Just like the pills, I see tiny pieces of metal and screws from the hinges fly in the air and land across the bare wood floor that my tiny body was curled up on._

 _As if it was all in slow motion, my mom starts to look up to the sky whispering empty words of hope to herself._

 _The monster whips around and storms out the door to the car._

" _Don't you dare leave like this!" My mom storms out the door chasing after the monster, but I can tell by the way she moved that even she knew there was no hope in chasing after something that you can never fix._

 _Closing my eyes, I listen to the sound I had heard too many times before._

 _The sound of metal clashing._

 _The sound of my mother's scream._

 _The sound of sirens in the distance._

I swear I hear the stirring of sleeping bodies in the apartments around me when I let out a blood-curdling scream.

EPOV

" _Edward, please,"_

 _The warmth of Bella's core pressed against me as I continued to suck on the soft skin of her neck._

 _I flip her over so I'm on top of her. It's all completely dark, but all I can see in the complete darkness are her lit-up green eyes. Like all the other dreams before this, I expect her to take off her tank top the way she had all those other times._

 _Instead, in a complete instant, I feel her warmth turn to ice as I see her eyes start to close._

" _Bella?"_

 _I am left in complete darkness, without any of the light Bella's eyes were providing._

" _Bella?"_

 _There's no response._

 _Seconds before I am about to yell out again, the words that disrupt the eerie silence send chills down my spine. These words were not said in a sexual way, but rather a pleading, desperate, scared way._

 _"Come find me."_

I shoot up from my bed and see that I've slept till 12:30. _Well, there goes my day._

The weight of my head is almost too much for my hands to hold. _What the hell did that dream mean?_

I slowly get out of bed, but I feel something's different in the air.

I wasn't hungry. My stomach felt like it was a few inches off-center and I have the feeling as if I need to leave.

Grabbing a bottle of water, I quickly chug it down as a remedy for my small hangover.

After I zip up my hoodie I walk out the door to my private beach and plop down in the sand with my head resting on my knees.

What the hell was wrong with me? Sure that dream was creepy, but it was exactly that: a dream. But why do I feel like it was real?

I was having those exact dreams of Bella and I ever since I met her (What? I'm a male. We have dreams about having sex with women that we want), but this was the first time that she had disappeared, leaving me in the darkness, and said that. _What the hell did that "come find me" even mean?_

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket and smile to see a stream of pictures from the night before that Alice had taken with a note at the bottom

" _Had such an amazing time last night! Love you, big bro. Kisses."_

I open up the rest of my texts and make sure there aren't any that I have to respond to.

Mike? Nope. Already responded.

Brandon: No again, I already confirmed my training with him.

Sam: Nope.

Bella…

I reread our last texts over the past few days and smile at our light-hearted conversations. My smile gets even bigger when I think about our night last night. She never seizes to amaze me in every way.

Scrolling down to our most recent text, I see that the last one was the one I sent her before the show started.

 _Crush it out there for me. Text me when you're finished and we'll meet up. See you soon. –E_

After staring at the text for a few seconds, it hit me.

All the oxygen leaves my body and I can physically feel my face turning white.

This is what was wrong.

She promised and she didn't do it.

Something happened.

I feel it in the pit in my stomach.

She never texted me that she got home.

* * *

Oh boy.

Don't kill me for the cliffhanger!

The next chapter will be coming as soon as it can.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

xx,

S


	15. All in Due Time

**A/N: Hi babes!**

 **Sorry for the backup on this chapter. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting with the cliffy I left you last time. I hope this chapter makes up for it!**

 **Visuals are posted and please REVIEW! I haven't been seeing as many reviews and it's been making me sad :( Make me happy so I can write kick-ass chapters for you all!**

 **Shoutout to Melissa for helping me with this chapter.**

 **Enough rambling from me.**

 **Lets get into it.**

* * *

 _"Steadily learning_

 _Steady we grow_

 _All in due time."_

-Trevor Hall, _All in Due Time_

* * *

 **1:15 pm**

"Come on... Come on... Dammit, pick up, Rose." I've been saying this to myself for the past fifteen minutes while making countless phone calls to Bella and Rose. I slam my phone down on the middle console of my car as I once again hear the automated voice telling me to leave a message. My knee starts bouncing even faster as I stare out the car window. It was now raining, which is an odd occurrence in LA.

I jump out of my skin when I hear the passenger door unexpectedly open. Alice takes off the hood of her raincoat and looks at me with concerned eyes. "Edward? What's going on? I came as soon as I got your call."

"It's Bella." My knee bounces even faster.

Alice's hand slaps down on my knee to stop its anxious movements. "Stop, Edward. You're scaring me. Now tell me what happened. I'm sure whatever happened isn't as serious as you think it is."

I take a deep breath and start weaving my fingers together, which is _another_ thing I do when I anxious.

"It's just- I know I'm probably overreacting- but before Bella left last night, she promised me she would text me that she got home safely. And last night, I had this really weird dream that freaked me out and I felt off this morning and I didn't know why and I realized that she never texted and I freaked out and then-"

"Edward. Slow down. Have you tried calling her?"

"Yes, and I tried Rosalie and every time both have been sent straight to voicemail. Emmett, too. It isn't like them to not pick up, Alice. My gut's telling me something's wrong." My head becomes a huge weight that falls in my hands as I start tugging on my hair. _Anxious habit #3._

Alice hand finds my back as she starts to run calming circles. "I'm sure she's fine, Edward. Lets just wait it out, ok? They'll see we called eventually. I know it sucks waiting, but it's all we can to right now."

She was right. I didn't know Bella's address and I obviously didn't have some tracking device on her, so I was helpless. All I could do is wait.

I get back inside and Alice plops down next to me with a cup of tea. The walls of my house are made of glass that overlooks the whole city, and due to the rain, the city looked almost as glum as I felt. It's as if the city brought upon a morose rainstorm when Bella disappeared.

 **1:35 pm**

After what felt like seven hours, my phone awoke from its undisturbed sleep and started ringing loudly, once again making me jump out of my skin.

Rose's name was written across the screen.

"Edward, pick it up!" Alice exclaims.

I couldn't. I was too scared about possibly hearing something I didn't want to, like she got kidnapped or got in a car accident.

"Edward, I know you're scared, but you've got to pick up. Please, Edward"

Right before the ringing ends, my hand shoots up and my finger slides across the screen of my iPhone, answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Edward, it's Rose." Her voice was ridden with exhaustion and stress, as if she'd been up all night. Instantly I tense up, knowing that my worst fears were probably right.

"Look, I know something's wrong and I don't want to invade any privacy, but could you at least tell me Bella's ok?"

"Yes, she's ok." My muscles instantly relax a little more. "Look, Edward, Bella has a complicated past and because of it she has some things she struggles with. I'm going to be perfectly honest since I can tell Bella trusts you, but for her privacy I can't elaborate on anything. Is that ok?"

"Yes, of course, Rose. Say as much or as little as you think Bella would be comfortable with."

I hear her take a breath before she begins.

"Something happened last night that brought up memories of her past. The memories unfortunately placed her back in the past in her head and she had an anxiety attack. The Uber driver didn't know what to do, so they called 911 and she went to the hospital. She's signing papers right now, and we should be out of here in ten minutes or so. It wasn't anything serious, but the driver didn't know that, so Bella was in and out very quickly."

I could've sworn I felt a part of my heart chip away at the news that Bella legitimally believed she was in danger and I wasn't there to help her.

"God, Rose, I'm so sorry. If I had left just after her and waited, I could've helped her and she wouldn't be feeling this way."

"Edward, god, you had absolutely no part in this. You have to understand that. What happened was inevitable, unfortunately, and I'm not ending this conversation until you tell me that you _know_ that you had nothing to do with last night."

"I know, I just can't help but feel somewhat responsible."

"Well, you better find a way to understand that you weren't responsible."

"I know."

There was a moment of silence between us before I ask another question I knew I had to ask. It popped in my mind the second I found out and refused to leave.

"Rose, I know she's not doing well, but can I see her? I understand if she isn't up to it."

"Look, I see no problem, but I don't want to speak for her. Can I ask her once she's finished up and shoot you a text?"

"Of course. It really isn't an issue if not, I just, I don't know, I will feel more settled if I see that she's ok with my own eyes, you know?"

There's another silence on her end before she starts again.

"You really care about her, don't you?" It wasn't a question though, but more of a statement to herself. We both knew she already knew the answer to that question.

"Text me when you have an answer, Rose. For now, wish her my best."

"I will."

Right as I'm about to press end on the phone, I hear Rose shout my name.

"Yeah? I'm still here, Rose."

There was no response on the other line, so I assumed she thought I had hung up already.

Right when I start to pull the phone away from my ear, though, I hear her voice once again.

"She cares about you too, Edward… More than you know."

The line went dead after that.

 **2:30 pm**

 _Hey. Emmett, Bella, and I just got back to my place. She's staying with us for the night so she isn't alone. Just talked to Bella and she said she would love to see you. I'll be seeing you soon, then. 6 Willoughby Ave in West Hollywood. x R_

 ** _I'm leaving now. Will be there in 20._**

 _Meant to remind you. As you might expect, she isn't typical bubbly Bella that you know. Don't be surprised if she isn't herself._

 ** _I would never expect her to be after last night. She must be physically and emotionally exhausted. I won't stay for long, I want her to get some rest._**

 _Stay as long as you need, Edward. Em and I are here anyways and always love company. See you soon._

 **2:49 pm**

I pull up to Em and Rose's house, which is a gorgeous Spanish style villa that is in a prime location. I hit the lock button on my Mercedes and head to ring the doorbell, but Rose answers the door before I have the opportunity.

"Hey." She looked exhausted and stressed. You can see the worry in her face and how emotionally invested she is in Bella's health and wellbeing, and I can tell from the way Bella speaks about Rose that Bella is just as invested as her. She looks up at me and I see the dark circles under her eyes from the hours of being awake.

Without even needing any warning, we both pull each other into a hug and stand there for awhile. The poor girl was worried sick and it was coming off her in waves.

"Thank you for being here." She says as she pulls away and Emmett approaches behind her looking just as worse as she ways. It was one of the weirdest moments to see cuddly, lively Emmett so broken down and weak. Just like Rose, we pull each other into a manly hug.

"Rough night." He says as we release.

I step inside and their home was just as welcoming and beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside.

Rose hands me a bottle of water as we take a seat at their kitchen island. "I just can't believe this happened." I say twiddling with my fingers once again. "Anxiety attacks are from the devil itself. There truly isn't anything more draining in this world."

"Do you have a history with them?" Emmett asks curiously

"Yeah, here and there." I wasn't in the mood to go into more detail.

"Well if there's one thing that's true for Bells and her attacks, she can spring back surprisingly fast. She should be feeling better by tomorrow, I would say."

Besides that fact, I still want to give Bella as much time as she needs to do whatever healing that needs to take place, no matter how slow or fast that will be. That's why I made a phone call to my management team on my way here.

"Well either way, there's no worry. She has at least the week off for work so she can take as much time as she needs. I just spoke to my management team and didn't go into detail about what happened, but they're completely fine with it."

"Thanks, man. I'm sure she'll appreciate that and it makes us feel better knowing that is in place for her."

"She's upstairs, if you want to say hi." Rose says, pointing out the stairs.

"Yeah, I guess now will be a good time before she starts to fall asleep."

"It's the third door on the right. Take how ever long you need, we're here if you need us."

Emmett and Rose leave me in the kitchen as I start walking up the stairs. With each step I took, the harder it got to find the will to open the bedroom door. Now that I was in the moment, I wasn't sure if I could see Bella in such a vulnerable state. I think it would kill me to see her so broken. The reality was, though, that she needed me and I needed to be there for her.

I reach the door and I open it to see a room only illuminated by the dim light coming through the cracks of the curtains. In the center of the room I see a body that must be Bella's in the bed and a suitcase on the floor. I kick off my shoes before I enter to reduce the noise I make and quietly walk over to her.

Curled up in bed, Bella has her long brown hair tied up in a bun and swollen red eyes. She had lost some color in her face and I could physically see the emotional strain that she had just gone through. I sit on the edge of the bed to reach out and brush my thumb over her shoulder. She felt like thin glass in my hands.

Slowly, her eyes flutter open and her green orbs meet mine.

"I'm here, Bella" I say gently, rubbing my thumb back and forth across her shoulder.

Once she realizes that it really is me sitting there, my heart picks up when a weak smile cross her face.

Just seeing her smile was worth having to see her so broken.

"Hi" he voice breaks slightly due to her lack of speaking in the past hour. Her voice was not the strong, determined one that I remember, but it was shaky and small.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, looking into her blood-shot eyes.

"I've had better days." I could see in her face that she had also had worse.

"How did you know something had happened?" She's staring at me curiously.

"Well, I guess to put it simply, I woke up feeling like something was wrong and like I was forgetting something, then I realized that you never texted me that you got home safely, so I called Rose and she told me briefly what happened."

"How much do you know?" A flash of fear crosses her face

"Not much at all, and that's totally fine," I say, reaching out to rub my hand gently down her arm to try and comfort her. "But," I reach down to grab the bag I brought with my other hand. "I do know that there are only a few things you need right now."

"What?" She cocks an eyebrow at me

I lay out the items I picked up for her on the way here.

"Dark chocolate, _Step Brothers_ , _We're the Millers_ , _The Office_ , and a big ass teddy bear. It's all you need."

Her eyes become the brightest I've seen them this whole time as she look at me in disbelief.

"It's honestly creepy how well you know me. Thank you." She grabs the teddy bear right out of my hands and snuggles up with it even though it's practically just as big as she is.

"It's the least I could do, Bella. Get some sleep, it's almost 3:15 and you've been up all night."

"Thank you again, Edward, you have no idea how much this means to me." She places her small hand in mine and intertwines our fingers, giving my hand a squeeze.

I smile at her in response and get up as I turn out the light, leaving her cuddled up in bed. Just as I am about to shut the door behind me, I hear Bella call my name.

"Yeah?" I say poking my head back in to see her sitting up in bed looking at me in her small tank top and shorts.

"Look, you can totally say no because it probably sounds really weird and it's a lot for me to ask, but could you maybe stay with me? It doesn't have to be long at all, I just don't totally feel safe yet and I don't think I could fall asleep alone, and I was just wondering, and, yeah, you know." She bows her head and becomes completely fascinated with her fingers as she twiddles them just like I do when I'm nervous.

I would be lying if I said my heart didn't jump at the fact that Bella feels safe with me and wants me to stay with her. I would swim across the Pacific for her, and I could use some movie watching and sleep anyways.

"I would do anything for you, Bella, you should know that." _Maybe I'm sounding like a stage-five clinger right now, but I don't care._

Even in the dim light of the room, I could see her blush slightly and move over to make room for me.

"So," I say making my way over to her side of the bed and picking up the DVDs, "Are you feeling Step Brothers, We're the Millers, or The Office? I say fanning them out at her like a deck of cards.

"Hmm," She says, glancing over the covers of the DVDs, "I've never seen Step Brothers"

"WHAT?" I shout embarrassingly loud.

She starts giggling at my outburst as I look at her like she's insane.

"What?" She says, still giggling, "I never got around to seeing it!"

"Well then move your ass over, Swan, because you're about to see cinematic comedic history being made right in front of your eyes."

After putting the DVD in the player, I grab a throw that was at the end of the bed and lie down next to her.

I turn my head to look at her and see that she's laying on her side facing me.

"Hey," I say quietly as her eyes shift from the opening credits to my face that's only lit up by the tv screen. "Even though this movie is one of the best ever and you have to see it, try and get some sleep, ok?"

"Ok" she answers with a little smile.

The movie goes on and each time I hear her break out into laughter an enormous smile grows on my face. About halfway through the movie, though, I realize she wasn't laughing at the parts that most people laughed at. I look over and see that she was completely passed out, with her perfect lips slightly pursed and long eyelashes hitting the tops of her high cheekbones. Her breath was steady and she thankfully was sleeping peacefully.

A few minutes later, I am about half asleep as well but am slightly jolted awake when I feel a weight hit my chest. It was Bella, and she completely had me in a sweetheart's cradle with her head and arm resting on her chest and one leg in between mine. As if it was by instinct, I wrap my arm around and pull her closer and rest my head on top of hers. She felt like thin glass in my arms and it broke me to feel her fragility. Even though she'll wake up and probably be creeped out by me cuddling her when I was fully conscious, I'll hopefully be able to make up some kind of excuse and say it was in my sleep.

While she was still sleeping I rub circles on her back and down her bare arm. Right when I start doing this she nuzzles her neck even more into my chest and tightens her leg around mine letting out a barely audible moan. With her body pressed against mine, I slip into one of the most blissful, undisturbed sleeps I've ever had.

 **7:50pm**

The body next to me and my own both stir at the light that begins to pour in through the window.

My eyes flicker open and I see two thin strips of orange light beaming across the room through the openings of the curtains and the light waving of palm leaves dancing across the room with the light.

I look around and have no recollection of where I was and how I was here until I see a picture of Emmett and Rose on the bedside table.

It all comes back to me: the phone call, Bella's anxiety attack, and us watching a movie. Right then, I am reminded of her presence when I feel her body which was molded into mine start to stretch. I look and she's still asleep, but definitely waking up. After slightly stretching, she snuggles even more into my side.

"Hey" I whisper as I rub her shoulder. Her eyes flutter open just like mine did and shine a metallic green against the orange light filling the room. I see her eyebrows pull together slightly in confusion as she looks up at me, just as confused as I was in my sleepy fog. After watching her figure it out in her mind, she giggles as she pulls away from me. The shock of coolness from her lack of warmth makes me feel empty.

"I guess I never realized I harassed people in my sleep," she says with her groggy accent as she pulls out her hair tie, finger combing through her hair lightly that's like a dark river flowing down her back.

"It's not a problem at all." _Feel free to do it whenever you want_.

"SHIT!" She says, jolting up and looking at her phone "We're hours late for our call time in set!"

Right before she's about to bolt it for her suitcase to grab a change of clothes, I pull on her arm, bringing her right back where she was.

"You wouldn't honestly think I would make you go to work, would you?"

"Um, yeah, isn't that how work goes?"

"Well, I don't know who you were working for before you became a photographer, but not with me. You have a week off at the very least. You need some time to yourself, Bella."

"You really don't have to do that, Edward, I'm fine."

"Bella, I'm not stupid enough to think that what you just went through results in you being "fine". Plus, I know for a fact that you're the kind of person who says they're fine when they're really not."

She tries to piece together and accept that what I said is the absolute truth before she responds with her piece.

"Fine. I'll take tomorrow, but I'm not taking the whole week, okay? I'd go stir crazy."

"Take however long you need, okay? I'm fine with anything. "

We both sit in silence with the movie quietly playing in the background. Who knows how long it had been on repeat for. It was now almost eight and the sun was at its final stages of setting; we had napped for over four hours, and we definitely needed it.

"Thank you," I look back at her and she's sitting up with the covers pooled on her lap.

"For what, Bella?"

"For staying with me. I know for a fact I wouldn't had seen a minute of sleep if you weren't here."

"You know it wasn't a favor, Bella. I wanted to stay."

There's a small lapse of silence before she speaks again.

"Can you check on Em and Rose downstairs, I'll be down in a second."

"Sure thing," I say as I squeeze her hand with a smile and head out the door.

Right at the foot of the stairs stands Emmett with a cocked eyebrow mouthing "WOW".

"Emmett!" Rose marches over to Emmett and smacks him in the arm, whisper-yelling something at him

"Ow!" He says, grabbing his arm.

"Did I miss something?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen with the two of them tailing behind me like needy puppies.

"You tell me" Emmett says, giving me a knowing look

"Sorry. Still don't understand what's going on here." I say looking back and forth at the two of them.

"We didn't have sex," I spin around to see Bella strutting over towards us with her hair on top of her head, an adidas shirt, and nike shorts drinking from a water bottle.

 _Leave it to Bella for speaking what's on everyone's minds_ _while making casual lounge clothes look as sexy as lingerie._

"Thank you, Bella, for answering what Edward clearly couldn't"

"What?! You didn't even ask me anything. All you did was stare at me like some needy dog!"

"Don't worry," Bella says leaning against the kitchen island with her bottle of Fiji. "you'll soon understand that Emmett and Rosalie have very dirty minds. You get used to the assumptions of sex. They once thought I slept with a guy just because we were standing in the same asile in the grocery store."

"Noted." I look back at Emmett and Rose who both shrug their shoulders

"We're just nosy bitches, I guess." Rose says spinning around and heading back into the living room.

"Alright, I better head out before Alice thinks I slept so much I died."

"I'll see you Friday, man" Emmett says giving me a handshake and slap on the back.

"Oh, speaking of!" Rose runs back into the kitchen, poking her head around the corner, "What's the dress?"

Bella and I look at each other and it's clear we didn't have one in mind.

"Nice, I guess. Not a prom dress but not blue jeans. Does that sound alright?"

"YES! I have the perfect outfit. I'll see you soon, Edward!" Rose waves and scurries out of the room. I always found it funny how Rosalie only spent a few more years in America than Bella did, and you can lightly notice Rose's accent, while Bella's is still so strong. I guess some people lose it more easily than others.

I feel Bella's small arms wrap around me and I look down to see her hugging me with her head rested on my chest.

Once again, Emmett mouths "WOW" to me and walks out of the room with my middle finger directed at him.

"Thank you again," Bella mumbles against my chest.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close.

"Anytime." My hand starts from her shoulder and finishes at her hand as I give it a squeeze and walk towards the door and get into my car.

Once I get in, I slam my head against the steering wheel letting out a deep sigh. I was falling for this girl. Hard.

The second I reach the driveway after speeding home, I park my car and open up my beloved garage. Every time I enter my garage a wave of relaxation and comfort overtakes me.

Since I was a boy, I had always had a fascination and love for two things: cars and sports. Once I discovered acting, though, that became my primary focus but I still kept up my two hobbies. When I got my big break, I was able to put my dreams of owning a nice car into action and bought my first luxury car. Since then, I have installed a garage below my house that holds all my cars and motorcycles. It can hold about ten cars and many motorcycles and has an all white stone interior. It was the first thing I splurged on with my pay check and I have been adding vintage and new cars to the collection over the years.

My love for cars and sports came from the immense stress I had as a kid. I was always a good student, but many times I was too obsessed with grades to the point where I was never sleeping, and always worrying about the next exam. Nobody really knew about this besides my parents because I feared that I would be judged considering I was seen as "popular" in school.

Once I began to drive, another outlet for my stress and overthinking mind arose. Whenever I felt the need to escape or think about things, I would turn on a good album at the highest volume and drive for hours. The feeling of getting away was incredibly freeing and it gave me a quiet, uninterrupted time to just think about things and sit with myself.

I would also sneak onto the school field late at night and take out all my pent up stress on the sports field as well. To this day my favorite sport is soccer, and I still reserve a turf near me for hours and just play late at night when paparazzi aren't around. When I am on the field and my foot is making contact with the ball, every thought slips from my mind. It's like I am a different person and don't have any stresses from people or work burdening me.

After I punch in the security code, I pass the first row of cars holding my Aston Martin, Maserati, and Mustang, and cross over to the first row of motorcycles to grab the keys to one of my Harleys. I swing my leg over and open the door to while I feel the engine hum. _Whether she likes it or not, Bella has to ride this with me one day_.

Revving the engine, I zoom out onto my quiet street and make my way to one of the back roads that runs along the ocean. The bright street lights flash past me like a blur and all I focus on is the sound of the engine purring and the tires rolling effortlessly across the concrete. Like muscle memory, I take a left and head down a dirt road till I recognize the spot. I pull the key out of the ignition and walk up the side, trying to convince my mind that Bella is with me pulling me to the top.

With a sigh I sit right where we had been together weeks ago and take my helmet off, running my fingers through my hair. Not a soul was in sight for miles around me and the feeling of absolute seclusion was surprisingly comforting right now. A smile crosses my face when I remember Bella and I sitting exactly where I am now scarfing down Chinese food and telling embarrassing stories of when we were younger.

 _God, Bella, what was I going to do?_

I had feelings for her, that I could admit. But now what? With dating girls, they usually jumped in the relationship and did all the complicated relationship business things and I just tagged along and convinced myself I was having a good time.

With her, everything was completely different.

Being separated from Bella was hard even if she was in the other room, and there's an odd sense of comfort whenever I'm with her; she makes me truly happy. It's simple; I want to be with her

But then there's the reality.

The reality is that my life is complete and utter chaos for me and the people involved in it.

The reality is that I have to be gone for months at a time filming movies.

The reality is that the media eats people alive.

The reality is that she has a life, and I don't want to ruin it.

Maybe we can be together and only let the people we trust know, but I highly doubt that she would want to live that way... I know I don't.

I am completely lost. I have never wanted anything more in my life, but it kills me to begin to think about the cost of getting it. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if her face was plastered on the cover of a piece-of-trash magazine with some offensive headline.

The truth is Bella isn't stupid.

Considering she has spent plenty of time with people in the spotlight who live like me she knows the major setbacks of the life we lead. Due to that truth, I highly doubt she would want to be with me, and even though it hurts to say that, it's perfectly understandable.

No matter how much you may like someone, sometimes the price of being with them is too high.

My new understanding and sense of clarity that came from the ride has made me realize that it should be in Bella's hands. If in the future she puts out to me that she wants something more, then that's great; if she doesn't, that's fine too.

For now, I need to give her space, and what she wants will be clear all in due time. Friday night's party will just be us having fun and hanging out together as friends, and that's all I can expect from her right now.

I brush the dirt off that's clung to my pants and bid a small see you soon to the hill as I walk down back to my bike.

Zipping home, I have Trevor Hall's latest album blasting through my headphones and am weaving in and out of lanes with the ocean darkened by the night sky by my side. There was a point in one of his songs where I couldn't help but smirk because it was like the lyrics were written about Bella and I.

"Steadily learning

Steady we grow

All in due time."

 **2:06 am**

Once I close up the garage I head into the house and go straight upstairs to my bedroom. Sleepily, I pull off my clothes and climb into bed just realizing I had been up on the hill for hours and it was well into the early morning. I take a deep sigh and rub my hands over my windblown face as I relax for the first time today. It only took a few minutes for me to fall into a deep sleep as my mind began to replay the same dream I've had of Bella every night since I met her, except she doesn't disappear like last night. I can't help but feel a sense of warmth overcome me when for the first time I see not just her eyes, but her face smiling at me.

"All in due time." she whispers.

* * *

 **Cuties!**

 **Review and share this story if you want an Edward! I sure as hell do.**

 **Visuals are in my profile you guys. Love you.**

 **Check my twitter for updates on the next chapter. TheMadOnes4**

 **xx, S**


	16. family fàm mǝl ee n

**A/N: I missed you guys! I hope you all understand that I took a holiday break from writing to enjoy my birthday, Christmas, and New Years. Thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday!**

 **Since I've been gone for so long, I decided to treat you all.**

 **It's the Friday night party.**

 **You see Bella's house.**

 **You learn about Bella's brother.**

 **And things get interesting.**

 **LOVE YOU GUYS AND ENJOY!**

 **The more reviews I get the sooner I'll post the next chapter!**

 **Catch ya on the flip side.**

* * *

 **family |fàm⦁mǝl⦁ee| n.**

 _a group of people, each a unique masterpiece, sharing unconditional love and support_

* * *

 **BPOV**

"Ok, here's my address. I texted it to Mike, Alice, Jasper, Riley, James, Jessica, and my group and they're all set." I scribble down my address on a piece of paper I tore off from a blank page in the script.

"What time do you want us there?" Edward takes another bite of his lunch as he casually flips through his phone.

"6:30 ok?"

"Perfect." I look towards the line to get food and see Lauren who is shooting daggers at Edward and I sitting together. _Suck it, bitch._

We continue our light conversation, but I can't focus on what he's saying because I can feel Lauren's eyes burning into the back of my head.

"Oh, shit, I meant to ask. Do you need me to bring anything tonight?"

Right as I'm about to answer him, Lauren pulls up a chair directly in between us and sits her ass right down. "Ooooh! Hanging out outside of work, are we?" She puts on an innocent face and takes a bite of her poor excuse for a meal as she looks between Edward and I.

What was this girl's problem? She was acting as if this was the cafeteria of a middle school and she was the jealous girl trying to sabotage a perfectly innocent relationship.

"Yeah, Lauren, we are." I put on a tight smile that probably looks like a death threat.

It was sickening how she put on this sweet act around Edward. Looking back at him, though, he was giving me a confused look and I could see he was seeing through her façade.

"Wow, Bella," she says widening her eyes "don't you think, I don't know," she waves her fork between the two of us "that it's unprofessional to be going out on a Friday night with your _boss_?"

 _This bitch._

She leans back in her chair and looks at us with a smug smile like she had just won some kind of boxing match.

 _She fucking wishes._

I put my fork down and get ready to fire back about _her_ unprofessionalism, but am cut off by Edward who looks just as pissed as I am.

"Lauren," he says in this husky, sex voice that made me cross my legs under the table. _I think you've exceeded the number of fantasies you can have about him, Bella. Not the fucking time._

Edward turns in his chair and leans in closer as Lauren does as well pushing her boobs up in his face. _Gag._

"Yes, Edward." She says in a lustful voice that just comes out as an annoying nasally noise.

"If you don't get yourself out of Bella and I's business, I swear to god you will regret every single time _you've_ been unprofessional towards me and practically asked me to fuck you. I've ignored it long enough, but now if you even _think_ about me that way or every speak to Bella that way, you will find that you'll be in a very tough situation with my lawyer." Edward leans back in his chair away from Lauren and takes a swig of his water. "Harassment is never filed under good press, Hun." He winks at her and she looks just like she did when I confronted her a few weeks ago. She was shaking with anger and was trying to give him an intimidating look, but it really just looked like she was constipated.

"Bye, Lauren." Edward says right before she stands up so abruptly that her chair skids across the floor and storms off with her little blonde minion chasing after her.

Edward confronting her was one of the hottest things I've seen in my whole life. The way he spoke to her with such authority and gravity made my stomach turn and he defended me made my inner teenager squeal inside. When he was speaking to her in demands I couldn't help but picture him speaking those commands to me… While we were having sex.

I slowly turn my head back around and raise my eyebrows at Edward to see him looking at me like he was trying to hold in a laugh.

"What?" He says throwing up his hands like he was perfectly innocent and didn't just blackmail a coworker.

Once I start laughing at the ridiculousness that just happened, he explodes in laugher throwing his head back and practically tearing up.

"Damn, Cullen, that was impressive." _And hot as hell._

"The girl has been all over me since preproduction and I've tried to ignore her but the bitch doesn't know when to quit. Then when she had the fucking nerve to be completely out of line and accuse you and I of being unprofessional when that's all she has been, I was done."

"I feel like I need a towel and one of those squirty water bottles to give you like in those boxing matches. Well done, Cullen."

"Thank you, Swan." He and I head towards the exit of the catering tent with our heads held high like we had just won a war. When we pass Lauren standing in the corner fuming to her blonde ally, I throw a wink towards her right before Edward and I walk out. Together.

 **EPOV**

"Who's ready to paaaaaaaaarty" Mike throws open the door and leads Jessica, Alice, and James in my house. "I have a feeling this is going to be the party of the century, I can sense it." Alice says strutting inside. We all say our hellos and Riley and Jasper follow in shortly after carrying the rest of the hostess' gifts and copious bottles of alcohol.

"So Edward, what's the update on our love saga" James asks as I roll my eyes.

"There isn't one, dude"

"I bet you twenty bucks that by tonight that won't be true anymore" Mike adds

"Shut up, you two, and get your asses in the car. We're gonna be late." Thank god Alice is good at being commanding.

The sign for Bella's street couldn't have came sooner after the sex jokes started to get borderline disgusting and stories of the last Saturday night never stopped the whole ride. They had definitely been pregaming.

Bella's street winds up a hill that goes on for miles until we are almost at the top and see her driveway. Regretfully, as we headed down the driveway, I partially spit out my roadie on the poor driver when I saw Bella's house. I knew she had a lot of A-list clients, but I had no idea she was getting paid _that_ much. Her house was incredibly designed and modern with a white roof that sat on top of all mirrored walls. It wasn't like the typical glass box modern homes you would see, it had true design and was unique. Her driveway split into two and one lead down to the garage and one headed to the front entrance and parking space.

"Holy shit, I'm quitting my job and becoming a photographer." Jessica says from the back with her nose pressed up against the car window staring at the house.

"Dude I can already tell this may be the best party house in all of California." James says animatedly clinking his glass with Mike who's just as excited.

"Sorry Jaz, I'm leaving you and moving in with Bella." Alice says sitting next to a slack jawed Jasper.

Everyone jumps out of the car a little too excitedly and gawk at the view ahead of us. The setting September sun painted over the skyline and lit up the whole city. We mutter words of amazement and excitement as Riley comes over and slaps me on the back. "Her real estate is almost as good as yours, Cullen. Gotta watch out with this one."

Just as Riley finishes, I notice a flash of light hits my eyes and a piece of the all glass entry way opens up like a secret bookshelf. Turns out a part of the mirrored wall rotated open into a doorway. Bella steps out of the house down the marble steps while everyone slowly turns and realizes she's here.

I have to blink multiple times in order to fully take in what was walking towards my friends and me. Bella's wearing a white romper with a neckline that dips down past her boobs with an asymmetrical hemline and nude pumps. Her hair's in a lose side braid and whatever she had on her face made her look even more glowy and tanned. "Bells!" Jasper says once he notices what I am gawking at and he runs over and scoops her up in a hug. Alice nudges me slightly due to the small growl that escaped out of my mouth.

"Hey, Jaz" Bella says with a couple giggles, hugging him back.

"Thank you so much for having us, Bella," Riley hands her a bottle of wine and hugs her, "By the way, we're not responsible for any damages that may or may not happen tonight."

"Not to worry, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to beat the amount of times Emmett's shattered stuff from throwing someone in the pool or dancing on tables."

"That's an exaggeration and you know it!" I look past Bella to see Emmett walk out holding a beer bottle pointing an excusatory finger at Bella.

"Well I'm pretty sure my word goes over yours considering you have pretty much no memory of the parties I've thrown."

"Touche."

"Bella can we pleeeease go inside?!" Alice grabs her arm and starts bouncing by her side

Bella welcomes us and leads us up the steps to the mirrored wall that's turns out to be a two-way mirror. There's an allure that I can't describe that the house creates knowing that you can see outside but nobody can see in.

"This is it." She says leading the way. We stare with wide eyes and take in the gorgeous design of it all. It was modern but cozy, elegant but not stuffy, and perfectly Bella. It was clear that as a photographer she had a sharp eye for how to design and colors and all the stuff I have no clue about.

The entryway opens up into a large living room and the opposite wall is made of the same two-way mirrors that lead to a patio and pool overlooking LA. The room is a spacious mix of black, white, and marble with photographs hung up on the walls. Along the right wall of the room is a bar with a countertop and a wall of wine bottles. Her impeccable taste in music is playing over the speakers as _Clean_ by The Japanese House fills the room with melodies and beats, as if the song was made for touring this house. Once I walk further, I see that the room extends to the left to a gorgeous white and beachwood kitchen. I stop right in my tracks when I see a guy standing in it barefoot, cooking with a beer in his hand and a towel over his shoulder.

 _You've got to be kipping me._

How could she get a boyfriend that fast? Just a few weeks ago she said she was single, but how could I expect she was telling the truth? It was her private life after all.

"Jake," Bella steps past me and grabs his hand pulling him away from the stove.

There's a legit punch in my stomach when I see her hand in his.

I had to admit, he was a good looking guy. He had a dark complexion with strong facial features and black hair that was shaved lightly on the sides.

"Everybody, this is my best friend and number two, Jake"

"Wait, you two aren't together?" Alice blurts out. _I'm getting the girl a filter for Christmas._

Jake's laugher rings loudly around the room as he and Bella keel over laughing wiping tears from their eyes.

"Sweets," Jake says pulling his arm around Alice "that's fucking incest"

"Party's here" The instantly recognizable voice of Alec makes us all turn around when Alana, Camille, Leila, Alec, Brody, and Dylan walk in holding bottles of every alcohol imaginable.

"Jesus Christ I haven't had this since my first party in high school," Bella says picking the bottle of Burnetts out of the basket of alcohol Brody was carrying.

"Oh fuck," I say turning away from the bottle "It makes me feel sick looking at it."

"James and Mike texted us and told us to bring it because you liked it though" Brody says in confusion "I'm not judging your taste, but I wasn't expecting you to like that shit"

"Sorry dude, we wanted to see your face when you were reminded of that time you threw it up on Cassidy Goodwin's porch" James and Mike say laughing at me

"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

"For as long as you live? Never."

"Bells you look sexy as always." I overhear Alana say to Bella. My eyes instantly widen in agreement.

The house is already exponentially loud from everyone catching up and laughing; the sound of clinking glasses and music overtake the room

"Who wants a drink?" Bella yells as I stop my conversation about last night's game with Brody and Dylan.

Everyone raises their hand and we all gather around the bar mixing together all sorts of alcohol while Jessica and Alec start dancing with each other to the music using the shaker as an instrument.

I walk outside with the rest of the group and take in the view in front of me. Bella's gorgeously lit up pool flowed out of the living room and had a perfect view of LA at nighttime.

"Pretty cool place, huh?" Rose says walking up next to Jasper and I.

"Seriously, it's incredible."

"Wait till you see the rest of the house, especially the master bedroom." I whip my head to stare at Rose with wide eyes and she covers her mouth once she realizes what she said, giggling.

"I didn't mean it like that!" she says acting innocent

"Sure you didn't" I say messing with her

"Food's ready" Jake yells walking outside.

Emmett jumps over the pool chair like a spider monkey and runs over to the kitchen as Rose and Bell roll their eyes.

'Whadda we got, my man?" Emmett throws his arm around Jake's shoulder as he starts introducing what was in front of us.

The long kitchen island was completely covered with every kind of food imaginable. I laugh hysterically with Emmett when we both look at each other's plates and realize they're piled so high it could topple over.

We head into the dining room and each wall has a photograph on it that is just as striking as the next.

"Bella, are these all your pictures?" Jessica asks just as amazed as I am.

"Yeah, every one in the house."

"Do you think I could get a photo tour one day?" I look at her with pleading eyes.

"I don't know, Cullen, it depends on how you behave tonight." She throws a seductive wink at me that makes my dick meet the fly of my jeans

"OW OW!" Jasper says, clapping loudly "It's heatin' up in here fam" Alana sticks two fingers in her mouth and whistles loudly. Bella flushes lightly as she looks back at me and I notice her eyes darken while she watches me lightly tug on my bottom lip with my teeth.

I bet you could hear us having dinner all the way in Arizona because the mix of alcohol and stories to tell had us had us laughing ear-splittingly loud. It got even louder when Alice, Jake, and Emmett started fighting because every time Alice would start to speak Emmett and Jake would start screaming the lyrics to a random '80s power ballad cutting her off. I had to admit, even though I hated him the first time I saw him, Jake was a pretty fun guy. Spending time with everyone has truly proved that family is not just about who you share your blood with. After probably two hours of power ballads and a shit ton of food, we all rally and bring our dishes into the kitchen.

"So," I sneak up behind Bella as she jumps slightly when my chest meets her back. She was up against the counter drying dishes and I reach my arm over her shoulder making sure to press myself against her slightly and grab the drying towel. "what about that photo tour?" I throw the drying towel over my shoulder and move so I am leaning one hand against the countertop facing her. She mirrors my position and I notice the light green of her eyes darkens slightly as her pupils quickly drop down and look me up. She tugs her bottom lip slightly with her teeth and cross her legs quickly.

 _Was she… turned on?_

"I don't know, I think you were well behaved… for the most part."

"For the most part?" I lift an eyebrow and step closer to her. I reach my arm out and her eyes widen and legs twist together harder as I lean in closer.

Instead of doing what she thought I was, I grab a wet dish that she didn't realize was right next to her and quickly pull back from her to dry it.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that you looked like you wanted to rip off Jake's head the first time you saw him. He's one of my best friends and manager, you know."

 _Uh oh. Busted._

"Yes, I know that now."

"Then may I ask why you acted like you wanted to chop his balls off before you even officially met him?"

Whether it was just a surge of confidence or the haze from my whiskey, I say something that should have Bella running for the hills.

"I get possessive, Bella." My voice uncontrollably deepens and I can feel the intensity between us.

 _Shitshitshitshit I officially sound like a serial killer stalker creep_

Instead of stepping or walking away like I expect, I see her swallow hard and cross her legs once again.

She notices what she's doing and tries to relax a bit more, taking a step towards me. Even with her heels on, she has to crane her head up to look at me and I rejoice when I see lust in her eyes.

Just as she starts to say something, Jasper turns on Kendrick Lamar on the highest setting and Alice pulls Bella away to dance with her.

 _Great timing, Sis._

The memory of Bella and I dancing that one night in the club floods my memory and my dick awakens in a millisecond when I think back to her and I dancing together. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Riley b-line it for the door with a concerned look on his face. There's a solid minute of the angel and devil on my shoulders arguing about what I should do. The devil argues that I should stay and watch as Alice and Bella roll their hips to Kendrick Lamar but the angel is telling me I should check on Riley. The angel wins when I realize that if I watch her any longer, I'll look like an absolute creep, concealing my boner will be impossible, and someone will stop dancing and notice my gawking then it will just be awkward.

With a huff, I throw back the rest of my beer, open one up for Riley, and head out to the edge of the pool where he's standing rigidly.

"Shit" Riley says tapping ferociously on his two iPhones.

"Everything ok?" I ask, walking over to him with and handing him his beer.

"Yeah, just grab Bella for me? I have a favor to ask you two."

Confused and worried about what was wrong, I head back inside to find Bella now dancing with Camille. I lightly tap Bella's shoulder to pull her away, but yank my hand from her shoulder when an electric shock rips through my arm. _Weird._

"Riley needs us outside for minute."

She excuses herself and my mind is running wild about what could've happened. I cringe when I know the most likely reason is the tabloids did something terrible to somehow tarnish Bella's image, and it was my fault.

"Ok." Riley says hanging up the phone and turning towards us

"What's going on?" Bella says with a look just as worried as mine

"To make a long story short, the fucking rags just manipulated pictures and made up a story about another one of my clients that could hurt their career greatly." I instantly relax knowing that this wasn't about us. But why did he need us involved?

"So," he continues and turns to look at me directly "Edward, the interview."

Fuck!

The interview!

A look of disappointment crosses Riley's face and he looks at me like a mother scolding her child "Edward. You didn't forget the interview, right?"

"Ofcoursenot" I look down at my feet.

"For an award-winning actor, you're a shit liar," Riley huffs, "anyways, Bella, since Edward didn't tell you, he has a big interview with Time magazine. The interviewer is six hours ahead, though, so it won't start till 1:30am our time. I was supposed to go back to Edward's after this and run the interview with him, but because of this whole fiasco with another client I can't anymore." He looks at Bella with pleading eyes "Is there any way at all that you can take my spot? I know it's late, but it isn't hard at all. You just have to make sure the interviewer is asking appropriate questions and it isn't a train wreck, that's all."

Bella breathes a sigh of relief and looks back at Riley with wide eyes "Geez, Riley, I thought you were going to ask me to give up a kidney or something. It's not the slightest of a big deal." A smile inches across my face at the thought of Bella and I spending one-on-one time tonight.

Riley springs up and hugs her so hard she practically topples over. "Thank you, you saved my life."

We walk back in the house once the plan's made, and the party continues on until 1 am when we say goodbyes to our happy-drunk friends returning back home.

 **BPOV**

Once everyone's gone, I head back inside giggling from the drunken musings of all my friends. I shut the door and my eyes lift to see Edward staring intently at a photo I took about a year and a half ago back home in Australia.

"What's the story behind this one?" He asks curiously. His eyes are staring at the photo so intently that I flush when I see how generally interested he is in my work. If this is how he looks when observing my photographs, I don't even want to think about how I look at him when he's acting. I already was a huge fan of his before, I'll admit that, but since watching him work live with my own eyes, I fall more in love with his talent each time I see it.

I walk over to stand right next to him and gaze at the photo in front of me; it's as if I'm reliving that day.

"It was a year and a half ago when I was back home in Australia. My brother and I had to run out to the store to pick up extra batteries because this devastating storm was heading for us and we needed batteries for flashlights. My parents had gone out to grab some water and extra food incase we couldn't get out for a few days, so when I got home I walked outside to our deck that overlooks the ocean to make sure all the furniture was in. I looked out and you could see the storm heads coming faster and faster and the wind was so strong, I can still feel it. I looked towards the shore and I saw this girl standing in the water to about her waist. I ran down the stairs and on to the beach yelling at her to get out because the current was too strong to control. The girl never answered though and she just stood there in her white nightgown looking at the storm coming closer and closer. I kept yelling at her but I don't think she ignored me, I think she truly couldn't hear me. Finally, I saw her porcelain skin and black hair turn and she looked at me. I'll never forget the gigantic smile that crossed her face and instead of getting out, she danced. It was like nothing I've ever seen. Her long white gown danced across the surface of the water and the smile never left her face as she kept spinning. I remembered I never took off my bag so I took out my camera and started firing. After a few minutes, she finally got out of the water and ran down the beach until she receded into the horizon. I never found out who she was, but I don't know, something tells me she wasn't real. Like she was some angel or something. Anyways, I edited it and put it up to always remind me to not forget that magic does exist in the world, we just have to not only be willing to see it but believe it as well."

"Did you ever see her again?"

"Never. She disappeared as fast as she appeared."

"I had no idea you had a brother," His shoulder lightly brushes mine and I realize how close we are

"Yeah, he lives back in Australia full time so I don't see him as much as I would like to."

"Are you guys close?"

"Incredibly. Rose is four years older than me but Angus was born a year and a half after me so we grew up together. I don't know, we're opposites but also the same; I grew up hanging with boys and doing stereotypical "boy things" so I naturally bonded with him more. He was the one who introduced me to music, actually."

"Is he a musician?" His breath graces my bare shoulder

"Yeah, he always was the musical one in the family and he taught me how to play guitar when I was ten. One day when he was ten and I was eleven we were in the jungle near our house climbing trees and he started to sing Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. I joined in and by the final chorus we had climbed to the top of the tree and were singing so loudly we lost our voices the next day. By the time I was eighteen we started writing songs together and became a duo playing around Australia. A month before I left Australia to go to school in America we were offered a record deal after our song was played on Triple J, Australia's biggest radio. Angus and I spent hours going back and forth about what to do but I eventually decided to continue on to America and he decided to pursue music so the label took him as an independent artist. I'm so incredibly proud of where he's gone with it."

"Is he happy with his decision?"

"Beyond belief. He's like Justin Bieber in Australia and he's pretty big in the indie-folk scene around the world. Ever heard of the song Broken Brights?"

"Yeah, I listened to it for a month straight. Incredible song."

"That's my Angus," Edward turns so his nose is almost touching mine and gawks at me

"That's your brother? Did you write that song?"

"Yeah, that's him and I co-wrote it."

"You Swans are talented" he smirks at me

"Pssh, that's funny coming from a member of the Cullen family."

"Touché"

I turn on my heels and lead Edward into my office; he looks around at the diploma, pieces of work, and awards on my walls as I jump on my computer.

After setting up Skype and inviting the interviewer to the call, I give Edward my desk chair, chucking as I have to lift the computer up so the camera can capture his height. Before I know what I'm doing, I reach out and push back a piece of hair that had escaped and gotten in his face. The electricity of when I touch him is present again and he looks up at me, surprised.

"Um, sorry, there was a piece of hair in your face and I wanted to make sure since, you know, it's a video interview and all…"

"It's fine, Bella," he poorly conceals a chuckle at my sudden stuttering.

Breaking up the awkward air, my Mac desktop lights up right at 1:30 and the interviewer pops up on the screen

The interview goes on without a hitch and before I know it he hangs up and signs off.

"Um, thank you for doing this. I know it's kind of pointless but you never know when an interviewer will go too far and make things uncomfortable." His discomfort is kind of adorable.

"It's not a problem at all, interviewers can be assholes so it's good to take precaution."

I feel like I'm in high school again and not sure what to do saying goodbye to my awkward date.

"It's late and you're probably exhausted, I should head home." A piece of my heart breaks when I realize that he has to leave. I was silly to ever have the slightest bit of me believe in the possibility of something happening.

"Yeah, it is." The sullen air is prominent as I slowly walk to the door trying to savor every last moment.

"Thank you again for welcoming my sometimes psychotic friends and family."

"That's why we love them, isn't it?"

There's a beat of silence before we hug goodbye. I feel like I'm shrinking and I don't want to leave his arms. I fit perfectly, tucked under his neck and I feel his hard chest and muscular back in my embrace.

"Goodnight, Edward." I say in a whisper as I painfully step away and he squeezes my hand before slipping out the door, out of sight.

"Fucking hell," My hands cover my face as I flop on my bed, groaning. I was so screwed. I have never felt this strongly about anyone in my life and frankly it was scaring the shit out of me. All of these jumbled thoughts tire me out even more and I decide to wrestle with them in the morning. Slipping off my favorite dressing gown, I get in my bed and slowly drift off into a light sleep.

BANG BANG BANG

I jolt out of bed and look at the clock. 2:45 am. I fell asleep 20 minutes ago. Trowing on my dressing gown and tying it, I tip toe down the stairs with my adrenalin pumping through my body.

BANG BANG BANG

Ok, who would be at the door at 2:45?

Jacob has the week off so he isn't here to help me, and it's not like he would wake up since he sleeps in the guest house. There's a cast-iron pan and knives in the kitchen and a fire extinguisher in the coat closet. That's enough to defend myself, right?

My chest is rising and falling rapidly as I press my back against the wall near the door and slowly scoot closer and closer to the corner.

BANG BANG BANG

Once I reach the corner of the wall, I get ready to peer around and see who was there

 _Thank god the architect used two-way mirrors for the doors and walls_

 _You'll be fine, Bella, you can see out, they can't see in._

 _Three_

 _Two_

 _One_

I poke my eye from behind the wall and open my eyes.

It isn't a masked intruder.

It's not a monster.

It's not a murder.

It's Edward.

Confused, I push the glass and his eyes light up with excitement when he sees the door begin to open.

"Bella," he starts

"Is everything ok? You scared the living daylights out of me."

"I forgot something." I notice his chest is heaving live he ran up the driveway and he's staring at me more intensely than anyone has before in my life

"What?" I ask confused; I looked around the house before going to bed and didn't see anything that wasn't mine.

"Bella," his voice gets octaves deeper than before and he pauses, staring at me.

"What is it?" He's acting incredibly weird

"Since I'm going to hell" he mumbles and before I can even comprehend what's happening, Edward pulls my body to his and his lips are on mine.

* * *

 **To be continued ;)**

 **xx, S**


	17. In Your Eyes

**A/N: YOU GUYS!**

 **YOU ARE ALL AMAZING! *gives a million hugs***

 **The response from last chapter made me so amazingly happy. About 3.5k views and over fifteen amazingly kind reviews. Wow.**

 **I do have to say that every time I read a new review it would motivate me and I would go write more. I was so happy to read that you guys liked it.**

 **I know it was awful to leave you all hanging like that, but I never said I was fair ;) But not to fear, my friends, because a new chapter is here.**

 **I purposely didn't post visuals for the last chapter because I wanted to combine them with this chapter since they take place in the same night. The visuals are SUPER IMPORTANT for this chapter and I think they really enhance the story, especially for this chapter.**

 **Enough blabber from me, here's chapter 17.**

* * *

" _Bella," he starts_

" _Is everything ok? You scared the living daylights out of me."_

" _I forgot something." I notice his chest is heaving live he ran up the driveway and he's staring at me more intensely than anyone has before in my life_

" _What?" I ask confused; I looked around the house before going to bed and didn't see anything that wasn't mine_

" _Bella," his voice gets octaves deeper than before and he pauses, staring at me._

" _What is it?" He's acting incredibly weird_

" _Fuck it." He says to himself and before I can even comprehend what's happening, Edward pulls my body to his and his lips are on mine._

I freeze in shock for a few seconds while Edward gently but passionately kisses me, urging me to awaken from my stunned state. Whatever he did worked because right then my hands were in his hair and I pulled him even closer so every square inch of his body was touching mine. With a groan, he kisses me harder and backs us into the wall I was hiding behind seconds before. His deliciously large hands roam over my scorching body and his lips move to my neck as I arch it, begging him for more. Once he makes it to my collarbone until the warmth of his lips leaves my body and he presses his forehead to mine, both of us breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," He barely whispers, our eyes meet and his blueish green eyes meet mine. _I'm painting my house that blueish green._

"Edward," my finger drags across his stubble and trace his jawline, "you have nothing to be sorry for." I take the lead this time and pull his lips back to mine and he reciprocates immediately. We walk backwards until we hit the edge of the beige leather couch and his hands drag up my hitched leg leaving a burning trail. His arms drift across the smooth satin of my robe and I move to wrap my bare leg around his ass, yanking him closer. Within seconds, he picks me up as if I was lighter than a feather and I squeal, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Upstairs." I demand between heavy breaths while my lips move from his to his neck.

"Fucking Christ." he grunts in response to my demand and his strong hands squeeze my ass. He practically runs to the stairs a, pushing me up against the wall midway so he can kiss my chest. We continue to moan our names and curses back and forth and I mumble directions into his lips to my bedroom.

 _Holy shit this is happening._

The moan that escaped my mouth was borderline embarrassing when Edward's teeth pulled on my bottom lip then tongue darted in my mouth. The taste of whiskey, musky sandalwood, and the slightest hint of rich coffee instantly became my favorite as his mouth met mine, begging for more. With each second I could sense my feelings for him get stronger and stronger so much that I felt like a balloon that was about to pop.

His strong hands gripped onto me and held me in a way that made be believe that I was the eighth wonder of the surprisingly comforting feel of his stubble matched perfectly with the ferocity with which he and I wanted each other. In this moment everything about our professional relationship and the reality of our lives slipped away and the freedom with which Edward pleased me showed that he felt it too.

In this time we were just Edward and Bella, two people intertwined. Nothing else.

The coolness of my white sheets contradicts the heat radiating off of us as he gently but fervently lays me on my bed. His hips roll as he moves to crawl up the bed and hover over me. I push the bomber jacket that made we weak in the knees when he first walked in off his shoulders and my hands move to the hem of the tight white t-shirt he was wearing. Before I can pull the shirt over his head, Edward's hands leave my thighs and move to grab my wrists.

Puzzled, my eyes shoot open and I see him looking down at me, concerned.

"Bella, you have to know that this will complicate everything. I just want to make sure you know what this means. There's no going back after this."

The fact that he even considers the impact that this will have on my life makes me fall for him even more. The little part of me that was worried he thought this was just a one night stand rejoiced at the fact that he knew it wasn't.

"I'm not unaware of sacrifice, but I've found that with sacrifice more good comes than bad. This isn't just a hook up for me, either."

The color of his eyes lightens and he kisses me once before lifting on his knees and grabbing the neck of his shirt to pull it over his head.

 _Oh my word bless whoever made this creature._

His chest and stomach alone had me soaked just within a millisecond of laying eyes on them. His abs are prominent but aren't in your face and his broad shoulders shape his hard chest.

My eyes bulge out of my head as they roam down his stacks of abs and meet at his protruding v-line where hair and muscle point to one thing only.

Once again, he rolls down on me and pushed his hard-on into my aching core as my nails drag up his back muscles and return into his hair.

In an instant, he yanks the satin tie around my waist that closed up my dressing gown and rivers of its white satin and lace pool around me. Right then, I thank myself for being lazy and going to bed in the lingerie I wore to dinner and not an old ratty tshirt like I normally do.

"Motherfucking Lord."

I see Edward's eyes roaming over my body that is only covered by a black lacey and strappy bra and barely-there matching panties. When I didn't think his eyes could get any darker and animalistic, he freezes at the tattoo he hasn't seen. It was a linear, minimalistic design that sits under my boobs and peaks right in the center of the crook of my boobs.

"Bella," he says my name in a guttural growl.

 _I could listen to him say my name like that for as long as I live_

I cry out in pleasure when his tongue darts out to trace every line of the tattoo, getting closer and closer to my nipple. My bare legs tighten around his muscular core and the heat radiating off of us could warm a small village. His hard on is already pressing on the inside of my leg and I can clearly tell he's big.

 _Like, big._

"My hands and eyes are never coming off you." He murmurs as he continues to nip and suck down my stomach. My hands grip his hair harder in response and he suddenly lifts up so his face hovers above mine.

"Do you have any idea how absolutely breathtaking and sexy you are?" His eyes lay a trail of white heat while he looks down at me tangled in white sheets with black lingerie. His eyes widen to the size of the moon when I lift up slightly and reach behind, undoing the clasp of my bra. Slowly, I remove each strap then pull the whole thing off and throw it across the room.

"Isabella motherfucking Swan," Edward growls out, consumed by my bare chest. When I know he's 100-percent distracted, I flip him over and reconnect our lips, tugging and sucking.

"It's my rules now, Cullen."

My sudden sense of authority turns Edward on as he grabs my bare ass. I smirk into his lips when I grind into his dick and feel it still exceptionally hard, crying to get out. I move to suck on his jaw while my hands run over his rock hard stomach and chest, my hands moving in wave-like motions over the bumps of his abs. Edward sucks in a breath when my cool fingertips sneak under the waistband of his jeans and get to work, undoing the fly. Lifting his hips, he yanks off his jeans till he's only in a pair of black Calvin's briefs with a very apparent boner. I feel myself start to drool, staring at his v-line then leading down to his cock, standing right up. By now I'm more wet than I've ever been and a whimper escapes my mouth as I continue to stare at his dick, ready to shred off those briefs. In a flash, my back is pressed into the cool sheets once again and I realize Edward has flipped me back over and is giving me a crooked smirk that creates an even bigger pool in between my legs.

"Two can play that game, Isabella."

The mixture of his appearance and the way he called me Isabella in bed unleashes an animalistic characteristic within me and I yank his neck so we're in a pash once again. The same animalistic urge has Edward nibbling and tasting down and across my neck, going further and further down as he goes.

 _Turtleneck it is, tomorrow._

With an shockingly loud gasp, my back arches completely off the bed when Edward's hot lips connect with my rock hard nipple.

I feel his lips curve up into a devilish smile when a long string of profanities leave my mouth. The things he could do with his tongue make me hungry for him to taste me. He cups my other breasts, flicking and rubbing it while he pulls on every ounce of my nipple with only his mouth. After tasting me into a hazed delirium, he releases my nipple and returns back to my lips.

"I'm in the pill" I hum, after we let each other know we're clean

He grunts in response and tugs on my bottom lip ever harder. _He was going to be the end of me._

He hooks his thumbs around the black lace of my panties and pulls them off while he stares, gawking.

Frozen with his mouth open, his lips finally move when he growls "Well fuck me" under his breath, staring at my bare pussy.

"Gladly." I say with a smirk

His eyes widen and he yanks down his Calvins, his cock springing free at last.

 _Oh._

 _Wow._

 _It's_

 _Big_

 _Motherfuckingshit_

He pulls my eyes away and kisses me senseless, running his hand from my calf to my thigh while I rub my hands over his arm veins. Every inch of his skin touching mine is making me the happiest I can remember and he makes me believe I'm the only human on the planet.

He moves up the bed on to his forearms and teases his cock against my soaking pussy.

"God" I groan, grabbing his muscular ass and burying my face into his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent.

"Oh, Edward," I moan louder, sucking on his jaw digging my hands into his soft hair. I move and kiss him with every ounce of desire I can muster, licking and sucking on his delicious tongue while he moans into my mouth, following lead. He then moves up my face, kissing every square inch of it, comforting and reassuring my every belief about how crazy I was for him. His lips open and close around my nose, making me giggle like a little school girl and his chuckles as well, pressing his lips to mine.

He opens his eyes, pools of blue pouring into my green lagoon. He whispers into my mouth and my heart soars to the highest measure at his words. "You have no idea what you've done to me since I first laid eyes on you."

Before I can tell him that he's done the same, I cry out when he slips his fingers inside me, overtaking all of my senses.

"I've wanted to make you feel this way for so long," He moans into the crook of my neck while my walls clench around his fingers inside me. His fingers curl and rub my insides while his thumb massages my clit, releasing wailing sounds of pleasure. The slow but intense movements of his fingers have done more to me than any man has done to me combined.

"God, you're dripping wet," he grunts while kissing my collarbone

"This is what you do to me," I moan back, my walls clenching even more

Right after I say that, he slips another finger into me, more than I ever knew was possible, and my pleasure breaks all the walls defying everything I knew about sexual appeal. Edward and I's responses to each other was a while new level.

"I'm fucking close, Edward,"

"Good." His voice is guttural and drips desire

The lack of his touch feels like being dropped in ice water and I sob when his fingers escape me. Before I even know what's happening, Edward slams into me filling me way past the limit.

 _Oh my holy god._

Our names escape each others' lips and I call out in desire, his cock filling me entirely with slow but powerful thrusts.

"God, you feel so good, Bella" he gasps, entering me harder and harder while my pussy clenches around his length.

"Uh, _fuck_ , Edward," Erotic moan are slipping out of my mouth with each push more passionate than the next.

We fit together scarily perfectly, like he and I were halves making a perfect whole.

"God, I'm so close," Edward's face intense, with his eyes closed and perfect mouth agape. I wrap my arms around his strong, large shoulders and pull him even further into me, clenching my legs around him.

"Cum for me, Isabella," he growls, quickening his thrust pounding into me. Pleasure rips through my entire cell and my orgasm is building stronger by the millisecond.

"Oh my _God,_ fuck, fuck. _"_ I groan on the brink of my orgasm. I feel his exceptionally hard cock inside of me pulsing with desire.

"That's it, I'm so fucking close, Bella," he runs his hands up my curves and grabs my boob, whimpering in pleasure.

"Oh god, fuck, I- I, Edward, ah"

"Cum for me, sweetness," his voice comes out in a grunt from his impending orgasm.

"I'll always cum for you," I respond breathily floating on cloud nine

With that, Edward pounds into me harder than ever and cries out my name, cumming inside of me filling me wholly. This pushes me off the edge, and I cum harder than I ever had before with him inside me, panting as if I ran three marathons. Every muscle in my body tightens completely and my orgasm starts in my toes and rips through the entire surface area of my body, shooting up my sign and twisting my stomach.

"Fuck!" I scream and Edward can't even formulate a sentence while he reaches the peak of his orgasm.

"Fucking shit, Bella, ah- god." He calls out, pumping into me at lightning speed. Each thrust pushes out shout of pleasure from the man on top of me.

Once both of us are entirely emptied into each other, his forehead rests on my collarbone as we breathe heavily catching our breath. Slowly, my eyes flutter open to see Edward begin to look up to me, nothing but peace and happiness in his face.

He glances at my lips for a millisecond before pressing them to mine once again, this time touching them so gently I don't even feel them, the opposite of how we were a minute before. He slowly pulls out and cradles me in his arms like I was the most precious item on the earth.

"Edward," I whisper gently across his full, soft lips.

He opens up his eyes and all I see is something that makes my stomach flip and my breath suck in.

All I see is adoration.

I lose all control over my words and can't muster a sentence when his bright eyes shine their light into my mine making me feel like I'm going to shoot up in the sky and explode into every color.

I stare at him and say everything I've every wanted to say to him since we met without moving my mouth

He understands exactly what I'm telling him with my eyes and presses his forehead to mine, cupping my cheek with his hand.

"I know." He whipsers before kissing me in a way that makes me want to break into an emotional mess.

His lips brush over mine, the lack of contact driving me insane and then he presses them to mine gently, holding them there to speak their words until he pulls away. His arm wraps around my bare back and he pulls me to his side so my head fits right under his arm with my face resting on his chest. My leg lazily wraps around his and he pulls me tighter to him, wrapping our bodies around each other like tanged vines meant to grow together.

The last thing I hear before I drift off is his breathy, heavenly voice in my ear.

"Go to sleep, my angel." He presses his lips to my forehead before falling asleep with me.

As I wrap myself as tight as I can around the man next to me doing the same, I slip into the most restful sleep I can remember.

 **EPOV**

 **9:30 am**

My eyes flutter open to see a beam of light escaping through the curtains, dimly illuminating a space that takes me a moment to recognize. My blurry vision focuses and I see the angel wrapped around me, still sleeping soundly.

Last night transformed everything, and I couldn't be more happy that I am in this moment.

She was perfect.

And I swear to spend the rest of her days making sure she knows how perfect she is.

She was mine.

And I swear to spend the rest of her days making sure she will always be mine.

Because this girl was a treasure, and you should never allow a treasure to slip through your fingers.

I place a light kiss on her velvety cheek, once again telling her every feeling I had for her in my touch.

I begin to rub lazy circles soft enough so she won't wake until they gradually slow and sleep overtakes me once again.

 **BPOV**

 **11:40 am**

As I slowly awaken from a scarily deep sleep, my eyes wake up while I stretch and rid the fatigue out of my bones.

I look up and see the face belonging to the the figure next to me.

 _Oh my god._

 _Edward._

 _Last night._

 _He's here._

My heart skips a few beats when I rapidly replay last night's events like a flip book, recalling every emotion and sensation that drove me mad.

I turn on my side and see Edward sleeping soundly, his bare chest lifting consistently with each slow breath. My heart swells while I inspect every line on his face, his perfect mouth set in an adorable pout and long, dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks.

Every feeling I have for him pours over as I watch him sleep until I press my lips to his shoulder and slip out of bed.

Once I check that he's still asleep, I slip out of bed and tie my dressing gown back on.

I'll never forget what my grandmother always used to say to me. She was quite chic and always had quirky pieces of advice or habits that she followed all the time. Once I got older, she would always tell me that if I want to impress a man then make him after-sex pancakes.

With her in mind, I get out all the ingredients and put on music softly in the background to cook to. I throw my hair up on the top of my head and sing along softly, being careful not to wake up Edward. I grab a breakfast in bed tray and set it with silverware and a little flower I snipped from a bush outside my door. The pancakes turn a perfect golden brown and I place them on the tray with some berries and syrup, excited to surprise him in bed.

Softly tiptoeing into my room, I see he's waking up, tossing and turning calmly awakening from his sleep. I place the tray on the bedside table and sit on the edge of my bed, quickly checking my email and messages to make sure nothing important happened while I was sleeping. Right when I'm in the middle of replying to Riley's inquiry about how the interview went, I gasp when I feel two very familiar strong hands grip my waist from behind. Edward pulls me down and immediately kisses me senseless, taking every breath out of my body. I place quick, small kisses on and around his mouth until I pull away and gaze down at him.

"Morning," he croaks out adorably.

His natural sex hair is even wilder and the mixture of his sleepy eyes, crumpled appearance, and light stubble makes my toes clench.

 _How could I lov-_

 _NO, BELLA. Not yet._

He places another light kiss on my nose before pulling away with a confused look. "What's that smell?"

With a smirk, I pull my body off of his and retrieve the tray, placing it right up to him so it's elevated above his bare stomach.

"You fucking didn't." He says firmly, his pupils turning into the size of saucers.

"I fucking did." I place a quick kiss on agape mouth and he's still frozen, staring at my pancakes in shock.

I jump off the bed and watch as his eyes shoot from the pancakes to my body, which is now walking towards the bathroom. Halfway across the room, I drop my robe and strut ass naked across the room and jump into the shower. Before I slipped behind the door, though, I looked back and saw Edward with his jaw on the floor and a plate of my legendary pancakes in front of him.

 _Yeah, I was doing it right._

 **EPOV**

My eyes dart up to the bathroom door and I see Bella walk out with a towel wrapped around her, making it look red-carpet worthy.

"I take it you liked them?" She nods toward the empty plate with not even a crumb left behind from the greatest pancakes on the earth. The fact that we could be so comfortable and casual with each other and do simple things like making pancakes in the morning makes me smile like an idiot.

The girl woke me up in a fuck hot lacey robe with breakfast and walked across the room ass naked for me.

 _It's decided. She's never leaving my side._

 _Edward Masen Cullen how did you get so damn lucky?_

"I don't think I can move ever again, and I don't want to." I rub my incredibly full stomach that feels like it has a million hundred pound weights in it.

"If I ever die, can you bury me on a pile of those pancakes? Please?" I wasn't kidding. They were like crack.

"Absolutely not, because you're not going to die on me."

"Fair enough." I pull her down on the bed, kissing her again and weaving my fingers through her wet hair.

I was like an excited high school boy with his first girlfriend, I couldn't stand being more than ten feet away from her without freaking out. Bella seems to feel the same way because she kisses me back more than enthusiastically, giving off the sexiest moan I've ever heard.

"Thank you." I pull away and look into her eyes, showing her how much I cared for her. She was my everything. I loved her.

 _Wait, what?_

 _No, no, no, Cullen, we are not going there. Not right now._

 _Could I actually maybe love her?_

 _That's insane._

 _But is it?_

 _Agh._

"Of course." She pops up and heads to her closet, but before she even has a chance to take a step, I yank her right back down onto the bed.

"Isabella, you cant seriously tell me that you're going to feed me hundreds of pancakes and not expect me to need to work it off?"

Her eyes become ten shades darker and her pupils dilate.

She leans in closer and I can feel her heat through her towel. I'm not far behind her at all because my hard dick is pushing the comforter up into a hill.

"Hmm, you most definitely can not." Her accent alone is more than enough to make me cum.

In one movement, I rip the towel from her body and pull her back down on me, both of us craving each other's touch.

We didn't leave the bed all day.

 **6:45 pm**

"Dinner sound good?" I shout from the bedroom, slipping on a pair of joggers. I walk out into the living room where I find Bella in similar Nike joggers and a long sleeve, on the couch with her laptop and a cup of tea, her glasses adorably resting on her nose. I pull my shirt on as I walk over to her and lift her legs up, plop down next to her on the couch, and lay her legs across my lap.

"Food sounds great right now." She responds, giving me a small smile that lights me up instantly every time.

We had only left bed just twenty minutes ago so I could shower after having non-stop sex the entire day. She was my new drug and I was a hardcore addict.

"C'mon, let me buy you a fancy meal at In-n-Out." I hold out my hand for her to take.

"I would be honored." The sound of our laughter rings around the room for the millionth time today and she takes me hand before heading into her bedroom to grab her stuff. After slipping on a lululemon hoodie and some sneakers, she meets me waiting by the door and grabs her keys.

"Fucking shit, Bella," I whine, throwing my head back in annoyance.

"What?" She looks confused and glances down at her outfit, checking if something was wrong.

"How can you make sweats and not a stitch of makeup look that good? I'm going to look like garbage if I stand next to you looking like this."

She shoots me an utterly bewildered look and glances at my joggers, Nike rosches, and zip-up hoodie that I still had from on set. "Yeah, I'm going to just forget you ever said that considering you _clearly_ have never looked in the mirror before."

I roll my eyes and slip on my shades, leading Bella out the door.

"Should we take my car? I doubt paparazzi are around but in case they are they don't know my car so they wont follow us."

"Yeah, sure, is it in the garage?" I turn to head towards the garage but stop when I hear Bella's voice.

"No, it's right here," I turn around and see Bella walking over to a fucking hot black Audi R8 that was parked around the side of the house.

 _No._

 _Fucking._

 _Way._

"Isabella fucking Swan please tell me that the R8 you're walking toward is yours."

"It is indeed. A gift I gave to myself almost a year ago."

My dick shoots up when I realize that I'm going to watch Bella drive one of my most favorite cars on the planet. _Where was this girl my whole entire life?_

"You - you're into cars?" I stutter, still shocked and hard as ever.

"Eh, I guess so but I have to admit that I first loved it because it was a gorgeous car. Why, are you?"

"You could say that." I casually stick my hands in my pockets and stalk over to her, my every step very slow.

"Bella," I push her against the hood of the car. "Did you know that I have the same car in white and have admittedly thought about fucking you in it on more than one occasion?"

Her face flushes and she subconsciously crosses her legs.

"Uh- um – no, I didn't."

As much as I wanted to pound into her right on the hood, I wanted to be the ass that I was and tease.

"Hmm, too bad we're getting food or else I would've taken you right on the hood of this car." Her eyes bulge out of her head and she uncrosses and crosses her legs again, clenching her pussy. _Fuck, she's sexy._

"Foodcanwait" she blurts out quickly, her eyes growing even wider.

"Get in the car, Bella." She groans loudly in frustration and slumps over to the drivers side, mumbling profanities under her breath.

"You're a fucking tease!" She yells, starting the familiar sound of the engine coming to life.

"That I am, sweetness,"

We previously decided that we should go out in public as little as possible and that if we did we should be as disguised as possible. I hate how we had been together intimately for less than 24 hours and already my life makes us discuss about which disguises are best.

Once we leave her driveway, I pull my hood up and push my sunglasses up, making sure I'm as unrecognizable as possible, even in the dark.

After a quick ride, we pull up to drive thru and I take the lead in ordering, ratting off my order of burgers, fries, and shakes for the both of us.

Once I finish, Bella stares at me like I have three heads.

"What?"

"Edward, you just ordered enough food to feed a small country."

"I'm a hungry guy and it's better to have too much than too little." I state matter-of-factly.

She rolls her eyes and drives up to the other window, handing the food off to me sitting with a large smile and six bags of heavenly junk food.

After ten minutes we're already back in the house and I'm unpacking all the food, spreading it across the kitchen island.

I build a plate of burgers, fries, and a shake and practically skip over to the couch with Bella trailing behind me.

"C'mere" I motion for her to lie in between my legs and she does so, snuggling into my chest.

 _So this is what heaven is like._

"Oooh!" She shoots up and stares at me like a little excited girl, "the new Kevin Hart movie is out! Can we watch it? Pleeeeeeease?" I can't help but laugh at her excitement and she's practically bouncing up in down, looking me with pleading eyes.

"Considering this stud is in it," I point my thumb at my chest, "I would love to watch it."

"You're in that movie?!" She shouts

"Not really, he asked a few actors to make a five second cameo in a scene where he brings a girl to a Hollywood party so it wasn't even a role, just a favor a couple of us did for Kevin."

"Jesus Christ I love Kevin Hart, he's hilarious."

"I could introduce you guys, he would love you, ask long as he doesn't hit on you."

"Stop, don't say that to me, he's on my list of people-I-would-faint-if-I-met."

"Was I on that list?" I raise an eyebrow at her

"Maybe." Her blush and the way she took a bite of her burger nervously told me everything I needed to know.

"Oh my god I was _totally_ number one, wasn't I?"

"Shut up." She grumbles, crossing her arms across her chest.

I throw my head back and laugh at her ridiculousness that is quite adorable.

"Don't laugh at me, jackass!" She slaps me in the chest.

I catch my breath and look at her apologetically. I try and tell her that I thought it was adorable, but fail miserably and break into another fit of laughter.

"Oh my god, just start the movie, Chuckles." I notice that her shoulders are bouncing slightly and she's trying not to laugh along at herself.

My giggles quiet by the opening credits and I press my lips to her forehead. "Don't worry babe, I think it's _totally_ hot you wanted to meet me."

"Whatever." She was damn cute when she's being stubborn.

With my arms wrapped around her, we laugh hysterically at Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell throughout the movie and I laugh even harder when Bella jumps out of my arms when I appear, clearly very excited to see me on the screen. It was a funny, quick scene I did with Johnny Depp, Dave Franco, Chris Hemsworth, and Bradley Cooper and I was glad Bella loved it. By ten o'clock the movie was coming to an end and Bella and I practically jump off the couch when my phone starts ringing.

"Damn I forgot phones even existed for a minute. I'm going to check mine and make sure nobody thinks I died." She pops off the couch and struts away with an adorable wiggle in her hips.

"Hello?"

"He lives!" Jasper shouts on the other end of the line. "Where the hell have you been, man?"

"Timbuktu."

"Yeah, no shit. You haven't answered any of Alice's or I's texts!"

 _Shit, Cullen, use your improv skills and think of something!_

"Yeah, sorry dude, I slept in super late then immediately went and played soccer for hours. I kind of forgot the time while I was playing and haven't checked my phone."

"I thought you only played on Wednesdays and Sundays?" _Uh oh. Damn best friends knowing everything._

"Um, yeah, I do but I can't make it tomorrow so I went today instead."

"Oh, cool," Jasper says buying my excuse. _Thank you god._

"Okay, well I'm glad you're alive and I'll hit you up later."

"Thanks for checking in." I hang up the phone as Bella walks out of her bedroom and sticks her phone back in her pocket. "Was that Jasper asking if you were alive?"

"Yup. Was that Rose asking the same?"

"Yup."

She returns to her spot snuggled up next to me and sticks her hands under my shirt, rubbing my back. I press my lips to hers again because the last time we kissed was five minutes before and that was too long for me.

"What did you tell her?" I ask, kissing her nose and eyelids.

"That I realized I had fifty pictures to edit so I shut my phone off to focus."

"So you agree that we shouldn't tell them about anything that's happened?" I ask.

"For now, I think we should keep it between us until there's a reason to tell people what happened."

"Bella?"

"Yes?" She places a light kiss on my jaw and looks right into me.

"I just want you to know that I don't see myself going anywhere." I may have sounded like a creeper, but I didn't care. It was the truth.

"Good, because I don't either." Our mouths connect much more forcefully this time and my tongue makes a home in her mouth once again, licking and sucking everything that's there. I grab her ass and pull her closer to my already excited dick. The girl made me get a boner faster than I ever thought was possible. She grabs me by the neck and pulls me even closer, our lips glued together. It isn't after awhile that she pulls away breathless for air.

"Please tell me you aren't going home tonight." She says breathily

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Bella squeals as I pick her up honeymoon style and walk her into the bedroom where we make love the rest of the night before falling asleep in each others arms.

I was home.

* * *

 **AWWWW!**

 **How cute are they?!**

 **Ok, so I was super worried about writing a sex scene because I found the whole concept quite weird, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought. With that being said, though, don't expect a million in-depth sex scenes in this story. I ain't down with that.**

 **I hope this lived up to what you would think it would be.**

 **Can't wait to update soon and let you know what's going on with these two.**

 **For now, REVIEW and share this fic if you like it!**

 **Reminder that visuals are linked in my profile and highly recommended. Head over to my twitter ( themadones4) for updates on chapter posting.**

 **If you _don't_ want to look at the visuals, I recommend you at least look at "the morning after" because it will make you happy :)**

 **Love you guys!**

 **xx, S**


	18. Ex's and Oh's

**A/N: Happy Monday you all!**

 **I'm so glad you all liked last chapter. Hot, right? Thank god they finally let it out... I can imagine the tension and anticipation was killing you all.**

 **An important note about this chapter and the story:**

 **Despite what you may think, I'm not a fan of unnecessary catfights, especially in books or stories like this. There's a new character introduced in this chapter who causes a bit of drama and there's another conflict between Bella, Edward, and this person. But, I didn't put this character in just to piss Bella and Edward off and cause unnecessary drama. So before you roll your eyes at this character, they have a purpose in this story which will be revealed in the coming chapters. Don't worry, these "showdowns" are not random and they are implemented strategically by me for plot development.**

 **There's a lot going on in the background of this story that you may not realize now... You have to keep reading to figure out the real story behind this fanfiction.**

 **I'm not planning on ending this story anytime soon; Bella and Edward are a lot more than you see right now and they have a lot more adventures ahead.**

 **That's all for now, my loves. Enjoy and of course...**

 **Check out the visuals linked in my profile, share this story, and REVIEW!**

 **Oh, and a** **word of advice for this story? Pay attention to details, even if they seem meaningless.**

* * *

I awake to the familiar floral scent of a sunny LA morning but the unfamiliar sound of clattering pans and the shutting of cabinets.

 _Jake isn't supposed to be here today, right?_

I choose to worry about that in a minute because right now there's a beautiful man sleeping behind me and I have to say good morning to him first. I close my eyes as I stretch and move from my side to my back and let my hand fall where I believe Edward would be. Instead of hitting his hard chest, I am met with the instant coolness of bare sheets. I move my hand around a few more times looking like a blind man trying to find his glasses before I open my eyes. I don't need to wait for my eyes to adjust to see that nobody's there.

 _He promised me he would stay, didn't he?_

I jump slightly at the sound of incessant beeping and a mumble of curses coming from the kitchen below me. _Case solved._

I grab his white shirt and slip it over me before padding out of my room and down the stairs like a little girl on Christmas. Once I turn the corner I see Edward's bare, muscular back in a pair of jeans that are hanging dangerously low and tight around his perfect ass. It takes a lot for me to hold in laughter while I watch Edward lose terribly in a fight against my coffee maker, grumbling incoherent curses. I slowly tiptoe behind him and wrap my arms around his stomach, making him jump out of his skin. He yells hilariously loud and I explode into laughter as he clutches his heart, bent over with a hand on his knee.

"How the hell were you so quiet?!"

"Excuse me, _I_ was not quiet you were just loud because you were cursing out the poor coffee machine which is looking a little worse for wear, by the way."

"I guess I can forgive you since you're wearing my shirt and therefore giving a raging hard on." I giggle and wrap arms around his neck as he wraps his arms around my waist, kissing each other like we have been apart for months. He pushes me up against the counter and gropes his hands over me, making me feel like a gem. I reciprocate and move my hands down his stomach, kissing him harder, and meeting my hands together behind his back, pulling his stomach even closer to mine.

"Good morning, beautiful." He whispers on my lips before kissing me on my nose and then moving to take out the white bread. Waking up to Edward cooking in my kitchen made me truly realize that _this_ is what I want. I don't need money or a flourishing business or a million friends to be happy. If I wake up every morning at peace and with Edward like I am now, we could be freezing our asses off in Antarctica and I'd be gloriously happy.

"Whatcha thinking about over there?" Edward turns to look at me while he beats some eggs.

"Just philosophical, deep shit. The usual." I wink at him and reach for the coffee Edward finally managed to brew.

"Care to share?"

"Well, I was just reflecting upon how the simple things in life are truly what makes us happiest. I guess I was thinking about you." I say the last part as I sheepishly stare down at the floor.

"I figured you were thinking that." Edward states.

"How so?"

"Because I was thinking the exact same thing too while you were still sleeping this morning."

My eyes look up to Edward gazing down at me with such adoration that I feel like I could tear off all my clothes and run around the world singing. We stare back at each other once again before the moment comes to an end and Edward returns cooking.

"What are you making this morning, Mr. Cullen?" I ask as I walk over to the stereo to put on a morning acoustic mix that fits the mood perfectly.

"Well it's my mother's recipe, actually. Her legendary French toast."

My mouth waters as I bolt over to the bowl he's been working in and stare at it with wide eyes.

"French toast is my favorite" I exclaim, inhaling the vanilla and cinnamon that has scented the air.

"I'm glad." He presses his lips to the side of my head as I rest my chin on his shoulder, watching his graceful movements.

"Are you and your mom close?" I return to my spot at the kitchen island slipping my coffee and reading the paper.

"Very much so. She's the kind of mom that unconditionally loves without exception. Even though her life and job's insane, she made it absolutely sure to never have us feel abandoned. I don't know how she did it."

"And your father?"

"Same with him, luckily. I am insanely privileged to say I have great relationships with both of my parents. They've seen you in person, you know."

"How so?" My eyebrows knit together, puzzled.

"They watched you preform at Emmett's concert when you first started work." I choke on my coffee and just about spit it out on the paper when I hear what he said.

"What?!" I ask, looking at him wildly.

"Yeah, they were there," Edward states so nonchalantly like it was nothing.

"Edward, I didn't know your fucking parents were in the crowd, let alone two of the most iconic directors and producers. You're parents are _incredible_ at what they do and hell, your mom is a wildly successful director in a business where females make up only 6% of directors. So, yeah, I'm a bit shocked that they watched me preform and I was completely unaware."

 _Oh no._

"Oh god." I say to myself and I can feel my eyes bulging out of my head, "They didn't like the show, did they. They never came backstage; they left early. Oh please, Edward, give them my apologies and let them know I can give them a full refun-"

He cuts me off by slapping his hand over my mouth and I shoot him an annoyed look. It's scary to think I really do have no idea who's watching me, even when I'm on stage.

"Bella Swan, sometimes you _really_ don't have a clue, do you?" Before I can retaliate, he cuts me off again and cups his hand harder over my mouth, shutting me up.

"My parents were absolutely stunned and wanted to meet you so incredibly badly, but they had a 4am call time and it was already 1am so they left. Now please try and see yourself more clearly so we don't have to do this again?" I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the truth.

 _Having their first impression of me be me butchering a song in front of hundreds of people wouldn't have been ideal._

"Now shut that pretty little mouth of yours and eat some goddamn French toast." Once he takes his hand off my mouth I see his arm come around my shoulder and slap down a pile of heavenly French toast in front of me. The intense smells of cinnamon, butter, and vanilla filling the entire house and Edward's natural musk may be my new favorite combination. He plants a kiss on my cheek before returning to the stove to grab his plate and sits next to me. I take a gigantic bite and let out a long, powerful moan. This was sex on a plate and I made sure to tell him that.

We continue eating with absolutely no time to talk except for making occasional moans and groans and "fuck me"s.

"What's the plan for today?" I ask regretfully once I clean my plate, not wanting to face the fact that we must return to reality some time.

"We don't have to be on set till eleven so we have another two hours or so. I can't imagine what we can do with that time." He takes an obnoxiously seductive bite of his French toast and wiggles his eyebrows at me, making my chuckle.

"You know I would do anything to spend our time that way, but my boss-from-hell needs me to edit all these pictures so unfortunately I'll be locked in my office for the next hour. Also, this boss-from-hell needs to go pick up their car from their house so it doesn't look like I drove with my boss to work."

Edward grumbles realizing that I was right before his face flashes with an idea. "Well then what if this so called boss-from-hell says you don't have to and orders you to have sex with him. Repeatedly."

"Then the boss's management team would have my head on a stake for not getting these pictures sent in. Sorry babe." I plant a kiss on his lips before walking over to stick my dish in the dishwasher.

I turn back and see Edward looking like a sad, horny puppy.

"But…" I start, and Edward perks up immediately, "I do need to take a shower and I am a firm believer in water conservation."

I can see his pupils dilate from across the kitchen and within an instant he scoops me up in his arms and walks me straight upstairs to the master bathroom.

There really is nothing like morning shower sex and French toast.

 **EPOV**

"Do anything fun this weekend?" I look into the mirror at my long time friend and hairdresser who's lightly applying gel to my hair to try and make it look somewhat orderly.

"Just hung out. Nothing special." _Lie, lie, such a fucking lie._

I had left Bella's only about an hour ago after the best shower sex I had ever had and ran back to my house to grab my car and head to set. She wasn't due for another hour so for now it was just me and my hairdresser, Bree, in the trailer.

"Oh my god I forgot to tell you, don't freak out but Ja-"

Before she can finish, I am hit with rich perfume that makes my stomach turn and the sound of the door closing.

"Lauren." I don't even have to look up from my phone to know it's her.

"Afternoon, Edward." I look to see her plopped down on my couch with rollers in her hair and a nasty smirk.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" I respond coldly. I feel Bree's movements become uncomfortable and unsure due to the tension in the room.

"What? A friend can't visit a friend? Plus, I wanted to let you know that one of my _best_ friends is coming to set today and the next few days for a few scenes. I just had to get Sam to include her in the film because she's so good and I really think you two would get along. In fact, you might know her. Does the name Jane Volturi ring a bell?"

I freeze.

Before I even think, I'm out of my seat and walking right over to her, my fists clenched at my sides. I notice random numbers scribbled on her hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Lauren?"

"Oh so you _do_ know her." She puts on a fake shocked face and acts oblivious.

She knows damn well that I know Jane.

"Well, I just thought that it would be great to see her again because just between you and me, she miss you _a lot._ Plus, I think that Bella would _really_ love to meet her. Don't you?"

Every blood cell pumps through my veins at lightning speed and I can already feel the veins popping out of my forehead. She found my weak spot: Bella.

Lauren knew very well that Jane and I had history back when I was a different person, and she wanted to sabotage Bella and I's relationship by sticking Jane in between us. If only Lauren knew the feelings I had for Bella, she would know that an old girlfriend of mine couldn't even come close to slightly altering the feelings I had towards Bella. Plus, I didn't realize it back then, but Jane's an annoying, stuck-up diva who thinks her way is the only way. As long as Lauren continues to believe that Bella and I are just flirting and nothing's happened between us, I think it will be ok.

Before I can respond to Lauren's sheer ridiculousness, the woman herself walks into my trailer like she owns the damn place. Jane was still the skinny blonde actress who quite frankly looked like everyone else and bored the hell out of me. She had on a top that cut noticeably low and a pair of shorts that revealed her ass cheeks.

"Edward!" She screeches, her nasally voice making my ears bleed. She runs over to me in her unnecessarily high heels and wraps herself around me while I stand awkwardly, unsure of what the fuck to do. She finally pulls herself away and grabs both sides of my face like my grandmother used to.

"Um, hi, Jane."

"Ugh, Lo, can you _stand_ how handsome he is?! You look great with tattoos, Edward." Lauren smiles obnoxiously in response to Jane and it takes all my control to not strangle her right now.

"Edward can we please sit together at lunch today? I feel like we have a lot of catching up to do…" She says the last part suggestively as her finger slides down my stomach, making me feel nauseous.

Saved by the bell, Sam's voice comes over the radio telling me we're ready to shoot. In a split second, I burst out the door and speed walk over to set, wiping off my shirt like it will help get rid of her fingers on it. I stop dead in my tracks, though, when I see Bella standing, talking to Sam with her camera on her hip. Her hair is tousled and sexily messy from my hands in it and she's wearing a loose, olive t-shirt that scoops down and shows of her bronzed chest. There are a very thin gold necklaces around her neck and she has on a pair of denim cutoffs that make her legs and ass look heavenly. We were filming outside today so she had her Ray Bans resting on her nose and brown leather sandals on her feet. She was able to look casual but look very put together at the same time and her bohemian-style clothes fit her personality perfectly.

She sees me out of the corner of her eye and the corners of her mouth turn up slightly as mine do the same.

Once her and Sam finish their conversation, she meets me over on a bench where I'm studying lines.

"Afternoon, Mr. Cullen," she says and sits too far away for my liking.

 _You're in public, Edward, hold it together._

"Ms. Swan," I nod my head towards her and place my script down. "how was your weekend?"

"Quite eventful, actually, I felt like I couldn't catch my breath for some reason." She winks towards me as she plays with the lens of her camera innocently. _She was going to be the death of me._

"Is that so? It's funny because I would say the same exact thing." I throw her the "crooked smirk" I know she loves and I cheer internally when I see her legs cross.

"This is going to be really fucking hard, isn't it?" She whispers, tightening her legs.

"Well I can tell you that this isn't the only thing that's hard right now." I wiggle my eyebrows at her and she rolls her eyes, pushing me in the chest as I chuckle to myself.

After a few seconds, I decide to face the dreadful conversation I know I have to have head on.

"Listen, Bella, in all seriousness I had no idea this was happening, but you should know."

"Know what?" I see her face tense anxiously and her knee start to bounce nervously.

"Well, as you know very well, Lauren's been an… issue… to us. When I was getting my hair done this morning, she came in and told me that she invited Jane Volturi on set today." I look up at her and see her staring at me in confusion.

"Yeah, so? What does Jane Volturi have to do with this?"

I take a deep breath and rub my hand over my face, composing myself. "You have to know that I was a very different person a few years ago than I am now. Back then, Jane and I were in a relationship, if that's what you even call it. Back them I never saw any girl romantically or had any feelings for any of them; I just saw them as objects, including Jane. Lauren knows about Jane and I so she brought her on set to try and make _you_ jealous because she actually is delusional enough to think that I would still have feelings for her if I saw her again."

Bella's face is unreadable.

"Have you seen her yet?" She looks up at me, staring at me deeply.

"Yes, and unless she's fucking blind, I made it absolutely clear that I have no interest whatsoever."

Once again, Bella's silent and unreadable.

"Bella, please say something."

She keeps her eyes glued to her lens for what feels like an eternity before she puts her camera down and looks back up at me.

"You've change me, you know that?" She cocks her head to the side slightly, and her eyes become gentle. "My whole life I was incredibly closed off. I didn't believe much in expression and everything that faced me became internalized. Whether it was excitement or jealousy or frustration, I never liked showing it on the outside and my way of dealing with things was stuffing it all inside me, locking it in, and throwing away the key. It wasn't something I was proud of, but it wasn't something I felt I could ever change. But for the first time I can remember, I'm truly feeling and I'm not afraid to show it." Making sure our bodies are obscuring it, I grab her hand before she continues.

"For the first time in forever, I can say that I'm fucking jealous because of Jane Volturi and I don't think it's a bad thing at all, actually. It kind of feels…good. It feels good to feel, even if it is jealousy."

"I don't want you to be jealous, though, Bella. You have nothing to be jealous about." I plead to her, trying to get her to understand.

"Edward, you don't understand," she places her hand on top of mine. "if you put any guy's ex-girlfriend in front of a girl, there's not a female on the planet who wouldn't feel at least a ounce of jealously. It's normal and I know that. Sure, I may be slightly jealous, but I'm not _worried_. I know the kind of person you are and I know that you're speaking the absolute truth; that's why I'm not worried. If I was worried, it would be an issue, but I'm not one bit. I trust you." Her eyes soften after saying all of this and every bit of adoration in the world gets sucked into my body like a black hole. This girl sitting here was special in so many ways and I don't know what I ever did to deserve her presence in my life.

"You're incredible, you know that, right?" I place my hand on her knee and rub my thumb over it.

Bella gazes at me warmly while a light blush pinches her cheeks and I am once again amazed by her absolute beauty. Her high cheekbones, flawless tanned skin, jewel-green eyes, button nose, sculpted bone structure, full lips, and everything all represent how beautiful she is on the inside as well. _She's a rare find. She's my treasure._

"I really want to kiss you right now, and I hate that I can't, to be honest." She whispers like we're in a crowded room and she's telling me a secret.

"I know. We'll make this work out, okay?" I give her a reassuring smile because I _was_ going to find a way that we could be together without sacrificing our private lives.

Bursting the little bubble of ours, my radio goes off telling me it's time to start. We take a moment, not wanting to leave just yet, before standing up sullenly.

"You know why I also completely trust you?" She asks, swinging her camera strap over her shoulder.

"Why's that?"

"Because I know you couldn't handle Jane's voice for more than thirty seconds without self-combustion." She dead pans, looking me right in the eye.

A laugh explodes out of me when I recognize how she just preached the complete truth.

"Like a chipmunk on crack, right?" I say to a chuckling Bella.

"Dude, it's so fucking unbearable on the movie screen, I can't imagine in person." She says frightened with her eyes wide, scared of what's to come.

"It's pretty unbearable, I honestly don't know how I bore it for a continued length of time, but she'll be gone soon." All I want to do is put my arm around her reassuringly but I have to hold back.

"Have a good shoot, ok?" she says as I get ready to start.

"I will, and if you ever get upset about all of this," I say, motioning to the frenzied crew members and actors around us, "then just think that tonight we can be us. Just a few more hours, and we can be us." Her face lights up and she winks at me before walking behind the camera, getting ready to shoot.

"Rolling… Action!"

"Alright everybody, let's break for lunch." Sam calls over the megaphone. My costar, Chace Crawford, and I instantly relax at the thought of a break and I walk over to Bella who's waiting for me to head over to lunch with her.

"That was incredible, and I'm not just saying that." She says, motioning back at where we were shooting previously.

"Many thanks to you, Ms. Swan," I say like the idiot I am. "Get any good shots?"

"Tons, actually, I should be uploading them to your Instagram by tonight."

My stomach then grumbles embarrassingly loud, considering I burn off food like a madman and am always hungry.

"Ugh, I can't wait for food," I moan, practically running to the catering tent.

"You had the biggest pile of French toast like, four hours ago!" Bella looks at me like I'm crazy.

"I thought you already knew I eat a ridiculous amount all the time."

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't really believe it since it quite frankly goes nowhere," she motions towards my body, "you should be obese but instead you're-"

"Ridiculously hot?"

"God you drive me insane sometimes."

"It's what I do best, babe."

We enter the dining hall and it's flooded with all our crew members and my costars with their assistants or managers. My eyes zero in on Lauren and Jane who are sitting in the corner at their own table, glaring at Bella, looking her up and down.

 _I can't blame them. I'd be jealous of Bella if I were them._

A smug ass smile crawls across my face while I look from Lauren and Jane to Bella who's laughing with one of the members of catering. All eyes land on her when she enters the room for not only her striking, unique beauty but also the air around her. She effortlessly oozed cool, but humility also radiated out from her. Just the fact that she knew all the catering staff by name and made them smile says enough about her. I can't think of the last person who didn't treat the crew or caterers as peasants. I walk across to where Bella's getting food with an extra something in my step. Knowing that Bella was mine and nobody else knew it has completely altered my confidence; it was like I had a secret that everybody wanted to know.

"Don't look now, but Jane and Lauren are looking at you with fucking laser beams as their eyes." I mumble under my breath so only she can hear me.

"Don't you worry, I can feel it burning into the back of my head and my ass."

"Well I guess it's not your fault that you have beauty that any girl would kill for." I smirk when I see Bella blush wildly, trying to stay composed in public.

We grab our food and Bella flips down her shades, strutting without effort across the dining hall to an open table where I sit next down to her where I have Jane right in my line of sight.

I glance up quickly and see Jane practically has steam coming out of her ears. Bella continues to type on her phone trying to play it cool with her back to them, but I can tell from her body language she's very uncomfortable.

My grip on my fork tightens when I see Jane and Lauren get up and storm over to Bella and I's table. _Fuck this was middle school all over again._

"Incoming." I mutter and I see Bella's back straighten tensely.

"Edward, there you are!" Jane makes a point to scream this so the whole entire dining hall has our eyes on this scene.

 _Fuck. My. Life._

"Good Afternoon, Jane. Lauren." I say coldly, stiffly nodding my head to the two of them.

"Oh! You must be Bella!" Jane clasps her hands together under her chin and Bella flips her shades on top of her head, finally looking up at Jane. Bella does the exact opposite of what I expect her to do and flips like a switch, putting on a sweet smile and stand up to shake Jane's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Bella's words and body were incredibly warm and welcoming, while her eyes were really the ones doing the talking. Her icy glare at Jane was in complete juxtaposition to the sweet way she spoke to her. Her green eyes cut into Jane and the look she's giving her is intimidating to _me_ and I'm not even the one being stared down.

"I've heard so much about you from Lauren." Jane states, failing miserably in attempt to scare Bella. I stifle a laugh as I see Jane jump slightly at Bella's glare.

"Only good things, I hope." Bella's glare snaps to Lauren and I chuckle when I watch Lauren flinch slightly as well.

"Of-of course" Lauren stutters.

"Well, I would love to continue to chat, but Edward and I have to go over a few things before lunch is over."

"Of course, I'm sorry for intruding on this…meeting. Lauren and I have one to finish up as well." Jane sneers. "Oh, and Edward? Don't forget that we're nominated for best kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, and since we'll obviously win, we have to practice how we'll accept the award, if you know what I mean." Jane practically eye fucks me and makes me feel like I need to take a shower and wash her eyes off of my skin. I cheer internally when I notice that Bella doesn't even flinch at Jane's comment and still stands with her head high, having the upper hand in this showdown.

"Actually, Jane, I'll be on vacation for a family reunion. I'm sure you'll make do without me, though. I'm not worried." Jane's face turns crimson and she looks like she's about to stomp her foot like a little girl.

"Hey, you know what?" Bella's eyes light up and she turns back at Jane. "They sell cardboard cutouts of Edward, you could always use one of those. Might be funny. Once again, it was great talking with you all but we must get back to work." Bella sits right back down and waits patiently for Jane to stomp away before she looks back up at me with wide eyes.

"Fucking savage." I say affirmatively, right at Bella.

"What can I say?" Bella shrugs with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"You were having too much fun, weren't you?"

"Got to say it was quite entertaining. I also owe it to you for putting up with her for as long as you did. Impressive."

"Yeah, I was a very different, delusional person back then."

"Well it doesn't matter know because it's in the past, right?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Edward give me a sweet smile and our conversation is ended when some costars we've become friends with come and sit at out table.

 **BPOV**

After we finish up eating, Edward does a few more takes that thankfully don't last awhile. By 4 o'clock we're wrapped for the day and I'm packing up my equipment, ready to go back in private where Edward and I can be ourselves. My phone vibrates in my back pocket and I see a text from Edward, who's standing across the way.

 _-Dinner at my place?_

 **-Sound's perfect. I still have your address from my trial day.**

 _-God that feels like ages ago. I'll leave first and you leave about five or ten minutes after me. Security told me there aren't any paparazzi by the gate so we're good. Code is 23552._

 **-All set. x**

I see Edward throw his bag over his shoulder and flip down his sunglasses to block the strong L.A. setting sun. I can't help but stare at his all black attire with tattoos peeking out from the sleeves and the sunglasses on his face. With the sun hitting him in the way it is now, he could easily be a bad ass Greek-god or something.

"I'll see you all later. Have a nice night." He calls out, waving to the lingering crew members and myself. I wave back, acting natural and not like I'm about to see him in a few minutes. I watch Edward's figure recede and slip into his Range Rover, pulling out and zipping towards his house.

 _4:04. Give it around ten minutes and I'll be good._

To pass the five minutes, I flip through the photos I took today, smiling at one I caught of Edward and his co-star Chace laughing with his head thrown back after they both butchered a scene and messed up all the lines. _God he makes me so happy, even if I'm looking at him on a tiny camera screen._

Around 4:15 I practically run to my car and speed towards Edward's house, relishing in the excitement of him being able to touch me without worry.

I punch in the code and park my car before jumping out and speeding to the door. His house was just as amazing as I remembered it, with modern design and a long line of marble steps illuminated by lights to the glass door. I sprint up the steps to open the door to see Edward walking out of his room drying his hair in only a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He had washed off his tattoos and his body was still wet and his wet hair was slicked back, making his features even more prominent.

 _I had no idea how much I needed this._

He walks over to me with a huge smile and we kiss for the first time since this morning. We're sucking and nibbling hungrily like we haven't seen each other in an eternity.

"Fuck I missed you," Edward mumbles as I run my hands over the muscles in his back, poking my fingers under the waist band of his pants.

"You have no idea how hard it was to not be with you." I mumble back, pulling his face closer and moaning into his mouth.

We pull apart to catch our breath and I rest the side of my face right on his heart, hearing it beat quickly.

"Do you hear what you do to me?" Edward whispers with his lips pressed into the top of my head.

"Yes" I whisper breathily

I wrap my arms around him tighter and we stay there, interconnected for what feels like days.

"I'm exhausted." I say sleepily, in a dream-like haze from Edward's presence.

"Babe, I hate to say this but I really want to fuck you right now, but I don't think I have an ounce of energy in me."

"Thank god because I was going to say the same thing. I want you so badly, though."

"I do too, baby, but we should get some rest… Shit, we're turning into those old couples already."

"Edward, call me crazy, but I think we can take one night off considering we've had more sex these past two days than most people have in a year. Not that I'm complaining, though."

"Agreed. Go throw on something comfortable and we'll relax on the couch."

"Sounds perfect." I place a kiss on his lips before walking across the kitchen and living room that I remember so well from the first time we officially met. I open up his bedroom door and gasp at what I see. The extravagant room is surprisingly clean and very well designed, which is probably Alice's doing. It's a mixture of grey and cool browns with stone steps that lead up to the bed which was nothing like I had ever seen. At the top of his steps you reached a glass door that opened up to his bedroom and bathroom. The bed has glass around it with a TV mounted to it and a long, rectangular, roaring fireplace along the stone platform and steps the bed is on.

I look around more on the lower level of the bedroom and finally find the door to his closet. I open it to see it's a large room filled with every type of clothing possible. There's a mixture of Alice's clothing line, Saint Laurent, ACNE Studios, The Kooples, Adidas, Nike, Urban Outfitters, practically everything. As I continue to look around, I find a section of the closet that I instantly recognize. Lined up are different suits that I recognize from him wearing on the red carpet when I practically internet stalked him before my interview. I spot the one he wore to the Emmy's, Golden Globes, and multiple different premieres for his films. I can tell they all were made for him because simply put, they're just _Edward_.

I dig through and find his pile of sweatpants and pull out a pair of adidas ones and a white v-neck. I knot the shirt at my hip and throw my hair up on my head to walk out and find Edward sprawled out on the couch, flipping through channels.

"Fuck, the sight of you in my clothes never gets old." He opens up his arms and I lie in between his legs with my back lying comfortably against his chest.

"Um, can we just talk about your bedroom for a minute?" I say, still stunned by how cool it was.

"Yeah, I spent the most time working on that room when I moved in. It was so worth it because even though I've lived here for awhile, I still get excited every time I walk in."

"Yeah, I don't blame you." The room was out of a dream home catalog or something.

"What are we going to watch?" Edward asks, running his fingers lovingly over the sliver of skin above the waist of my pants.

"Look, hear me out and don't reject it at first but I _highly_ recommend turning on Vanderpump Rules."

"What? Hell no. I'm not into that pussy shit."

I turn around and see him looking at me like I just asked him to go kill a man.

"Just try it. If you don't like it, we can turn it off, no argument. But, I have yet to meet a female or male who hasn't gotten addicted to it."

"Fine." Edward says stubbornly after I convince him to watch.

We turn on the show and three hours later we're half way through season one and Edward and I are in a heated argument over Stassi and Jax's relationship.

"What do you mean Stassi overreacted? She was right in the end." I shout

"Yes, that's true, but I don't see why she had to take it all out on Katie and Kristen who were just trying to be supportive friends."

"We're never going to agree on this, are we?" I state, already knowing the answer.

"Doesn't look like it. But something we can agree on is that our asses aren't leaving this couch until we finish season one."

"Deal." I say, gloating inside about how I was right and Edward did get sucked into the show no matter how "pussy" it was.

"What are we going to do about dinner, then, because I sure as hell am not leaving this couch." He mumbles, snuggling me closer to him.

"Pizza?"

Edward agrees and orders enough for a family. Shocker.

We scarf down our food and continue watching until we hit season two and it's 1 am. Too tired to move anywhere, I fall asleep right there with Edward's arms wrapped around me in complete bliss.

* * *

 **Review, review, review and check out the visuals!**

 **Love you guys.**

 **xx, S**


	19. Open Door Policy

**A/N: Hello my lovies! For all you on the east coast of the U.S., I hope you stayed safe and warm over the weekend. I hunkered down and wrote this chapter with my coffee and the snow coming down... There really is nothing like it.**

 **I was thinking, and would you guys like it if I created a playlist for this story? Music takes up so much of my life and I know I mention a lot of artists/songs in this story so would you guys like it if I made a playlist?**

 **It would be compiled of the songs I listen to while writing and the ones I mention in the story. Each chapter typically is directly influenced by a song I've been listening to, so I thought it might be cool and enhance the experience of reading the story a bit... Let me know in a review!**

 **Also, I know I haven't mentioned this before, but my inbox is always open. I would love to get to know each and every reader of this story and talk about the story or just life, you know? So please, don't be shy and introduce yourself to me! Let's start a conversation! Just hit the envelope next to my name :)**

 **Alright, I'm done chatting. Here's the next chapter.**

 **P.S. don't forget to hit the review button and look at the visuals!**

 **xx**

* * *

I slump against the cool metal of the refrigerator and chug down every last drop from my water bottle. Rubbing the last bits of sleep from my eyes, I do an obnoxiously grand morning stretch and awaken my bones. Lying on the marble of my kitchen island sits Bella's swirling letters that join together as a note for me to wake up to.

 _8:30_

 _E,_

 _Went for a run. I was going to wake you up to ask if you wanted to come, but you were sleeping so soundly I couldn't even think of it. Will be back in a little over 45. I have my phone on me._

 _Yours._

 _B_

I glance at the clock and smile when I see she should be back in about 20 minutes. The past two days with her have been even better than the last. The more time I spend with her, the greater the feelings I have for her become. Her lack of presence alone can make me feel empty and I only feel complete when she's with me. The more I learn about her, the more she amazes me; her stories of growing up and the places her job has brought her make her such an interesting character that you could listen to for hours. I even was able to share parts of me with her; how I got into acting, growing up with Alice, and how my parent's career had an impact on my childhood.

"Yo Cullen!" the familiar voice of James echoes around the glass walls of my house and I hear the other instantly recognizable voices of Alice, Jasper, James, and Mike.

"Shit!" I whisper-shout and immediately slip Bella's note into my pocket. I run as quietly as possible and shut the door to my bedroom which contained signs of her being there all over the place.

 _Don't these people have work?_

"Edward?" Alice's voice travels through the house

"One minute!" I shout from behind the bedroom door. Within a millisecond my phone is out and Bella's number is dialed.

"Hello?" She says unevenly, panting as she talks to me and runs at the same time.

"How far away are you?" I say anxiously

"I'll be back in five minutes, why? Is everything ok?"

"Just don't come home yet. Jasper, Alice, Mike, and James just showed."

"Shit, should I just wait in a fucking tree or something?" Bella asks just as panicked as I am.

"No, I have an idea. Call me in five minutes and ask if I live here. Say you run in the area and recognized the house from the trial day, and I'll invite you up."

"Sounds good."

"Edward quit jerking off in there!" I hear Jasper yell down the hallway

"Shit I have to go call me in five." I say and hit end on my phone. I stuff it in my pocket and walk out to the four of them in my kitchen making a bowl of cereal.

"May I ask why every time you come over here you always choose to eat cereal?" I ask Jasper who's dumping a heap of Special K into a large bowl along with Alice, James, and Mike scarfing down Cheerios.

"I don't know, man, cereal tastes fucking amazing at your house." Mike mumbles with a mouthful of Cheerios and James grunts in agreement.

"I'm not even going to ask." I mumble, taking a seat next to Alice. "Why aren't you guys at work anyways?"

"It's a holiday weekend, dude." Mike says.

 _Shit. Should've thought of that._

"How's filming been?" Alice asks

"Certainly interesting…"

"How so?"

"Well, Jane Volturi showed up on set so _that_ was interesting."

"What the fuck?" Jasper yells, as shocked as I was when I first found out about Jane.

"Edward Cullen I hope you know damn well how I feel about…her." Alice spits

"I know and I feel exactly the same way." I say, easing her nerves.

"That bitch was crazy." James says with wide eyes

"Well just let her know if she ever throws herself on you or gives you a hard time, then she'll have to deal with me." Alice states as if she isn't 5' 2" and petite with absolutely no muscle.

"I'll let her know." I say jokingly, taking a bite of Alice's cereal.

As if on schedule, my phone erupts and I see Bella's name light up on the screen. Putting my skills as an actor to use, I act surprised to see her call and pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Edward, it's Bella." I make sure to have the volume up loud enough so everyone can hear her on the other end of the line. I feel the back of Alice's hand connect with my arm and she stares at me with excited, wide eyes and Jasper looks at me knowingly. _Little did they know._

"Hey, Bella, what's up?"

"I run a loop in this area and I thought I recognized your house. Do you live between… uh… Wilshire and S Almont?"

"Yeah," I say excitedly "I'm here with Alice, Jasper, James, and Mike. Run up to number 443 and ring the gate."

"Sweet, I'll be there in five."

"See you soon."

I hang up the phone and Alice starts screaming, jumping up and down.

"Alice, calm the fuck down!" I yell at her ridiculousness.

"Oh my god she's so into you." Alice gushes

"Jesus she was standing outside his house and wondering if he was there, not serenading him." Jasper says, rolling his eyes.

"Hold on." James yells over everybody, sticking his hand out to stop our talking. He slowly leans across the kitchen island between us and his eyes bore into mine.

"Uh, is there a staring contest going on that I'm not aware of?' I ask completely puzzled at his minute of continued staring at me like I was a problem he was trying to solve.

James doesn't respond and only looks at me harder. In an instant his puzzled expression evaporates and his face lights up.

"Fucking shit, Cullen!" He slams his hand on the counter and paces in a circle with his eyes wide like he just discovered the answer to the hardest question in the world.

"You got laid! Just look at him!" James screams, still amazed by his revelation.

"What?!" Alice screams, turning to me.

"You got laid, dude?!" Jasper yells even louder.

"Who got laid?" the Australian accent make us all whip around.

 _Oh. My. God._

Bella was wearing nothing but Nike shorts and a black sports bra. You could see all her tattoos, even the one on her chest, and her entire body was covered in a light layer of sweat with her abs protruding from her workout.

She walks towards us, drinking from her water bottle. _Aaaaaand, I'm hard. Achingly._

It takes all my strength not to strangle James, Mike, and Jasper as they look Bella up and down, trying to play off the fact they're totally checking her out.

"Jesus Christ, Bella." Alice says throwing up her hands and storming off.

"What?" Bella's face is worried as if she offended someone

"Can't you understand that not all girls can't have a body like yours?" Alice yells, motioning at Bella's toned stomach.

"Um, take a look at yourself in the mirror then check back to me on that." Bella says as she leans against the island, catching her breath.

"How long did you go?" I hand her a new, cold bottle of water

"6 miles."

"Damn meanwhile we're on our asses eating cereal." Jasper says stuffing another scoopful into his mouth.

"SO, don't escape the question, who got laid?" Bella asks looking between all four of us.

"Edward did" James blurts out as if she didn't already know the answer damn well

"No way, congrats dude!" Bella walks over and high fives me, making me laugh at the ridiculousness of what's going on right now.

"Anybody I know?" Alice asks.

"No, you wouldn't know her." I say, unsure of how to handle this situation with all eyes on me expecting a story about sex with the person in front of me.

"Was it a good lay?" Bella catches me off guard and give me a discreet smirk and wink my way.

"Gotta say, best I've ever had." I throw a wink back at her as Japser, James, and Mike start cheering and whooping with their arms over their head, giving each other high fives as Alice just rolls her eyes.

"Men…" I hear Alice mumble

Once my cheers and slaps on the back die down, Alice chimes back in the conversation.

"Hey, why don't we all do a beach day next weekend? Bella, are you and your crew free?" I had to give it to Alice, it was a good idea and I would not mind watching Bella walk around wet in a bikini.

"I have a shoot with Lana Del Rey till 3 on Saturday but if you are available, every Sunday Alec, Dylan, Brody, Camille, Alana, Leila, and I all surf at a super quiet but amazing beach about thirty minutes from here. Come join and we'll make a whole day out of it."

"Does that work for you guys?" I ask to all of them still stuffing their faces with cereal.

"Sounds like a plan as long as you teach me how to surf." James throws what he likes to call the "panty dropping smirk" and I impulsively shoot him a glare.

"Oooh! Me too!" Alice pops up

"Uh, don't forget about us," Jasper and Mike say with a mock-insulted face on.

"Alright then, Sunday Surf Session it is. We'll take the van and grab you all here around 11?" Bella asks.

"Done and done." Alice says, tapping it into her phone. I swear she would die without the calendar app on her phone.

"Shit now I have to think about what bikini I'll wear." In typical Alice fashion, she becomes incredibly stressed and flips through the ones she owns on her phone until she decides on one.

The rest of the time we hang around the kitchen as I throw together some breakfast while we all get in a full on heated conversation about Making of a Murderer. Once noon strikes, they all get ready to head back home.

Bella turns to me so her back is facing Alice, Jasper, Mike, and James who are slipping on their shoes by the door. "Edward, I actually am glad I'm here because I need to go over a few upcoming posts and shoots with you. It will only take a few minutes." She widens her eyes, telling me to agree casually.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Bella and I say our goodbyes to the four and don't say a word until we see them pull out of the driveway.

"Oh thank god." I gasp out in relief that we didn't slip up

"We did much better than I thought, to be honest." Bella walks over to me and wraps herself around me, planting the delayed good-morning kisses on my lips.

"By the way, what the fuck were you thinking walking in here in _that_ and not giving me a fair warning?" I eye her up and down just as hungrily as the first time I laid eyes on her.

"What? This is what I run in." She says, confused and looking down at her outfit.

"Well then you must cause a lot of collisions." I say, not exaggerating an ounce.

Bella rolls her eyes and wanders over to the fridge and begins to build a concoction of something called green grass, kefir, and a bunch of other funky looking things. "Wow, Bella, you didn't tell me you liked lawnmower juice."

"It isn't lawnmower juice, and as a matter of fact I'm going to get you to start drinking it." I look at her like she's crazy, which she is.

"Just try it." She shoves the mysterious green shit in my face and I tentatively take a sip.

"Holy shit it's actually not bad. At all." I look at the swampy looking water, shocked that something looking like that could taste good.

"Mmmhm. Told you. Start drinking that and you'll totally notice a difference with your sleep, mood, and skin."

"God you're such a hippie." I roll my eyes at her herbal remedies and hand her drink back to her.

"So am I going to get a special one-on-one surf lesson from the legendary Bella Swan?" The image of her in a wet bikini straddling a surfboard is borderline evil.

"That you are. Have you ever surfed?"

"Once on a family vacation when I was ten, I think. I don't remember it."

"Since you longboard it will be easy for you to pick up." Bella reassures me.

"Did you ever compete in surfing?" I ask, wondering why I haven't asked her more about her surfing.

"Yeah, a bunch actually. Before photography that's where I saw my life going. I competed a bunch in the Australian Open and even made it to the Triple Crown."

This was so typical Bella. Talk about something so nonchalantly like she does it for recreation when in theory she's a professional at it. If she were like the girls I know, she would tattoo her achievements on her forehead and not be so humble and nonchalant about them like Bella is.

"Who knows, maybe we could've gone to the Olympics together." I joke with her.

"Wait, what sport did you play?" Bella halts the conversation immediately and looks up right at me.

"I was a soccer player for a long time. Like you, I thought that was what I was going to do before acting. I played for hours a day, year round, on more teams than I can remember."

"Edward Cullen why the hell didn't you tell me this?!" She looks at me, amazed. "That's incredible! Do you still play?" It felt so odd to have someone listen to me so intently, like I mattered.

"When I can, I rent out a field for a couple hours on Wednesdays and Sundays to play on. I obviously don't compete anymore, but before I used to travel around the world with different teams playing. I really thought it was my future."

"Do you regret not staying with it?" She asks, curiously.

"Yes and no. I would love to not have as much "fame" as I do as a soccer player, but I love acting so much so it balances itself out."

"Well I'm shit at soccer, so you'll have to teach me."

"You teach me surfing, I'll teach you soccer."

"Deal."

"There's a thunderstorm coming in a few hours." I say, walking out by the pool and looking at the approaching thunderheads.

"This may sound crazy ,but my favorite weather is thunderstorms." I feel her arms wrap around me from behind and she presses her lips to my shoulder blades.

"Me too. There's nothing better than taking a nap during one."

For now, it was still sunny so Bella and I laid outside and sat in the sun, relaxing, talking, and just spending time together, learning more about each other.

I turn to my left and see Bella still lying in her sports bra, eyes closed, skin glowing in the sun. My index finger creeps down and traces the tribal design around her forearm, circling each point, circle, and line. I look at the other "&" sign on her opposite elbow and continue to trace the few tattoos on her arm and the little outline of the world map on her wrist. I rub the tips of my fingers along her arm, tracing the words "we're only visitors" inscribed above her elbow in rich black ink. I remember the first time she came on set and I saw her in a tank top and laid eyes on her tattoos for a first time. She took the time to answer my questions about each one and I remember just looking at her and being amazed. It was like something struck me and I saw her in a whole entire different light that I couldn't explain. It felt like when you stare at somebody you think you recognize for a long time then finally realize who they are. I replay the exact moment that I sat in my trailer with her and she explained to me what her tattoos meant.

" _What's the meaning behind this one?" I ask as I point to the one in scribbly handwriting that says "we're all just visitors"._

 _"Well, in Oz, we have the aboriginals. They were the people who were inhabiting the land before the British colonized Australia. As most colonizations go, the aboriginals were stripped of their land and culture."_

 _"Kind of like the Native Americans?" I ask_

 _"Exactly. Anyways, my grandmother used to tell me this aboriginal saying: We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home."_

 _"I had my grandmother write it out for me before she passed. It's a reminder that I am only a visitor and therefore everything cannot be taken to seriously. It helps me put things into perspective. Nothing here is permanent because eventually I'll return home and leave everything behind. So, while I'm here, why I don't just live a rich, full life and not waste time on anything that doesn't deserve my energy? I also had my grandmother write it because not only did she introduce me to the saying, but also because she truly lived by it and lead that kind of life."_

Bella's eyes flutter open and she looks at me softly.

"Whatcha thinking about over there?"

"Just about the first time you came to set and we talked about your tattoos and the meaning behind them all."

Bella hums and smiles, remembering the moment I was talking about.

"Your guitar's in the car, right?" I ask

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you play me a song?" I put on a pouty face and she giggles at my helpless begging.

"Yes, I'll play for you, but it's $100 a minute. No exceptions." She jokes with me. Even if she wasn't joking I'd pay a thousand dollars to hear her play for one minute.

"Deal."

She gets up and disappears around the corner of the house to her car. A few minutes later she appears with the rich brown guitar with the carvings she played that night I saw her on stage with Emmett. I watch her tune it by ear, twisting the knobs ever so slightly making sure it sounds absolutely perfect.

"What do you want to hear?" She turns her head and asks me.

"Something you've written." I say. It's still weird to think all those years some of my favorite songs were written by her and I didn't even know it.

"Alright, I've got one." She says after a few minutes of deciding. She places her capo on the fourth fret and starts a steady pattern of playing a few strings into a gorgeous, rich melody.

 _I can feel your heart beat when I'm all alone  
I can feel your heart beat like it's my own_

 _I can hear your music from a million miles away_

 _The angels got right when they made you  
The way they made you_

 _Sometimes I wonder if you're made from bones and skin  
Or are you something for me to begin again, again_

 _This love, this love  
This love, this love_

 _I will build you a mountain  
So you can see  
All the away across the universe to me_

 _I will build you shelter for when the days are cold  
I will be your shelter for when we're old and kind_

 _This love, this love, this love, this love  
This love, this love, this love, this love_

Bella's voice was hauntingly striking, unlike any I've ever heard. You couldn't even compare it to anybody else's because it was startlingly unique.

She sang with her eyes closed, intently focusing on the words she was singing with so much meaning and purpose. She plays the last string in the song and her eyes float open to me staring at her with all the emotion and feeling in my heart.

She didn't even have to say anything for me to know that the song was for me.

We stare at each other, losing ourselves in our gazes for minutes. We don't snap out of it until I feel a raindrop on my stomach and jump at the sudden contact. Bella and I look up and realize that the sun was long gone and the sky was grey.

We hurry in and Bella places her guitar down. Her body language was off slightly, her movement more slow and distracted and her face was showing strain. I move over to her and she looks at me with slightly watery eyes. They weren't as bright as they should be. Instead of asking her what was the matter, I pull her towards me and allow her to let everything out. Her body feels tiny against mine and I rest my chin on her head, letting her breathe against me. I know Bella well enough that she isn't allowing herself to cry; she's trying to hold it all on but she doesn't see how weak that is to do.

"Be strong, Bella, let it all out." I whisper in her ear.

Like that, I feel her unravel in my arms like she was made of ribbon and I just untied the bow that held her together. Her body shakes against mine and I feel her warm tears hit my skin as she quietly sobs against my chest. After moments upon moments, she let out everything that she had stuffed inside of her.

"What's wrong, Bella? You're scaring me." I have to pull her away from me and grab her chin and make her look at me in the eye. I could tell she didn't want me to see her cry but that was complete and utter bullshit.

Her eyes were red but the tears made the green incredibly vibrant. As much as she was emotionally strained, her face was softer after letting everything out.

"I-I-" her voice was groggy from the tears "I just don't know how the fuck we're going to do this."

Bella said what had been in the back of my mind since I first laid eyes on Bella. I knew that there was going to be more than friendship between us, but I also knew how complicated that made everything.

"I know. And I hate that we have to have this conversation." I say sadly as I walk her over to the couch and pull her into my side.

"I just…" Bella looks out the window, losing herself in her thoughts "I just don't see this as a short term thing and I know how hard that makes everything because of your life." She says honestly.

"You know I don't see it that way either, but I know that if you are willing, we can make this work. It just won't be simple."

"But how? I don't have a clue of how to do this and neither do you." Bella says, stressed out.

"I know, which is why I think we should call Riley and have him come over and figure this out with us. He's incredibly good at what he does and I trust him completely."

Bella sits and thinks about it for a minute, puzzling over the "what ifs" of the situation.

"If it will help, then I think we should." She states.

I pull out my phone and dial Riley's number.

"Hello?" He answers on the second ring.

"Hey, I know it's last minute, but would you mind coming over as soon as you can?"

"Yeah, I have the next hour open. Everything ok?"

"I'll explain when you get here."

"Got it, I'll be there in ten."

I hang up the phone and Bella goes and makes us a cup of tea while we wait. Right on time, Bella finishes making the tea and Riley walks in the door.

"Jesus, people don't know how to drive when it's raining." He strips off his soaked raincoat and dries his shoes. He walks over to my space on the couch but his eyes jump open when he sees Bella walk out of the kitchen; she probably doesn't remember she's still in her poor excuse of a running outfit.

"Hey, Riley," she says, handing him a glass of water and handing me my tea.

"Hey lady, I didn't know you were here." Riley says sweetly as Bella sits an appropriate distance for the occasion from me on the couch.

"Yeah, sorry to pull you away from work at such a short notice." She says apologetically.

"It's totally fine as long as you don't tell me you're quitting because you're the best thing that's ever happened to Edward's management." Riley says with a scared look on his face.

"No, quite the opposite, actually."

"What do you mean?" His face turns up in confusion.

Bella and I look at each other for a minute and she nods at me to continue.

"Riley, Bella and I are in a relationship." I say. It feel like the weight of a whole planet leave my body and I feel Bella take a relieved breath next to me. My hand rests on her knee in comfort.

"Well shit, it was about time you told me." Riley says with a wide smile.

"How did you know?" Bella asks, just as surprised and confused as I am.

"Well, I have to take pride in the fact that I knew _before_ you guys even knew."

"What?" I ask, puzzled.

"It was obvious that you two liked each other but were too stubborn to admit it. I know you couldn't see it, but the chemistry and tension radiating off of you two was borderline scary."

"Really?" Bella and I say at the same time, looking at each other surprised that it was that noticeable.

"Don't worry, I doubt other people suspect anything, I'm just am super sensitive to body language." Riley reassures us.

Right before I begin to explain why we asked him here, he continues to speak and shocks me when he says exactly what I was going to.

"Let me guess, it just hit you guys that you want to be together but you don't know if it will be too hard to with all of the media surrounding Edward and the lack of privacy." Bella and I go silent and stare at him like he just grew another head.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Bella asks in amazement at his mind-reading skills.

"Bella, you two are not the only couple in Hollywood who's gone through this. Your case is just a bit different because what you have is different." Riley states.

"What do you mean?" Bella asks.

"Yeah, I'm lost." I add.

"Edward."

He turns to me.

"Would you call Bella your girlfriend?"

It was a simple question but it took me awhile to answer it.

"No. Girlfriend seems too belittling of a label for how I see her." I say the last part to her and she mirrors the small smile on my face.

"Exactly. What you guys have is very rare and important so that just means that we have to work a lot harder to protect it and make sure it doesn't get exploited in the wrong way." This is why I loved Riley. He was able to put words to the thoughts I couldn't verbalize.

"So what do we do?" Bella asks

"Well, because Edward has the best goddamn manager on the planet, I already have a plan." Riley has a smug smile on my face and Bella and I are both still confused.

"Would you mind explaining?" I ask, utterly bewildered.

"Do you remember when I cancelled last minute when we all were going to the Alt-J concert a few weeks back?" Riley asks

"Yeah, what does that have to do with it?"

"Well, after seeing you two interact with each other and watching Edward's face completely change when he spoke about you, I knew that sooner rather than later you guys were going to admit your feelings for one another. It was inevitable. So, instead of going to the concert, I called our management team in and they all agreed that we should have a plan in place if you guys get in a relationship, which you hadn't yet at the time. Basically, we have a plan in place so that you guys can keep your relationship completely under the radar for however long you would like it to be. That night we made various types of deals with all the paparazzi agencies so if you two ever get caught together, we could get them removed."

He hands me a sheet for Bella and I to look at and it's a list of every paparazzi agency and the person at that agency to call if we ever slip up and get photographed. _This guy was amazing._

"As for now, keep doing what you're doing and just try as hard as you can do go undetected if you leave the house together. You can tell the people you trust, but that's your decision of when and if you want to do that."

"God, you're awesome, Riley." Bella and I get up and give him grateful hugs for having the situation under control and easing our anxiety completely.

"Just don't worry, you guys, and be happy. Enjoy and treasure what you have because so few are as lucky as you are."

Bella hugs him one more time in thanks and I thank him again.

He closes the door behind him and Bella and I let out a huge sigh of relief. "See? We have nothing to worry about. All is good." Bella's face is a hundred times lighter and all strain has left her face. My Bella was back.

"Thank you." Bella walks up and kisses me hard as my arms wrap around her and pull her close.

"For what?" I place a hair that escaped from her ponytail behind her ear.

"For putting up with me. I'm sorry I ever doubted that we could work." She smiles sadly

"Did you not listen to what Riley said? It's expected for you to feel this way in a situation like this. Hell, I even had anxiety about it and worried that we weren't going to work out, but that's normal for our minds to catastrophize and dream up situations that won't happen."

"I know, I see that now. What's important is that we're here, a plan is set in place, and there's nothing to worry about."

I break into a grin and kiss her hard and passionately, walking her against the cool marble of my kitchen island. After losing ourselves in all the licking and sucking, I tear off Bella's sports bra in a swift movement, letting her hard nipples drown themselves in between my lips. Her back arches and I push her down onto the island and make my way down to her pussy. Her tight shorts are off in an instant and my tongue reunites with her clit, making her moan and give at my touch.

"God, you're so-" Bella cries out, unable to even finish her sentence.

I get a bit smug knowing that every time I've touched her she's been soaking wet and unable to form complete sentences.

That thought and the sounds of her curses and groans echoing around my kitchen place me on the edge.

"Do you see what you do to me, Bella? I'm already so fucking close." I groan, releasing my lips from her pussy and reconnecting them with hers as she licks herself off my lips. _Fuck she's hot._

"Then fuck me." She states and that's all I need to pound into her right on the kitchen counter. Screw my house having glass walls, I needed Bella and she needed me. Desperately.

"Fuck, Edward!" The heat radiating off of her contradicts the iciness of the marble and I roll into her harder and faster.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I scream, cumming right into her as she reciprocates and her orgasm spills over.

"God, god, god, fucking, Edward." She screams as she reaches her climax.

My movements slow and I rest my head on her stomach rising and falling quickly.

"I'll never let go of you." She says in a dream-like state.

"Good, because I'll never let you." I wrap my arms under her and lift her up, carrying her into my bedroom where we had had sex for hours the whole night before.

"Mmm, I need a shower." She mumbles into the crook of my neck and I reply more than happily.

"Say no more." I carry our naked bodies into the shower and we clean each other off as the six surrounding shower heads beat warm water into our bodies.

"Edward?" Bella asks once I finish rinsing off and begin to shut down my shower system.

"Hm?"

"Do you remember when I first interviewed with Zafrina and Riley?" Bella asks, wrapping her self in a warm towel I hand her as I do the same around my waist.

"Of course I do, why?"

"What did you whisper into Riley's ear?"

I knew she would ask me about this sometime soon.

"Well, I don't ever get involved with interviews because I leave that to my management team, but I heard that you were coming and I saw your resume. Because you're friends and have a relationship with pretty much every single one of my favorite bands, I was familiar with your work. Alice told me I should walk in and see you since I had no clue what you looked like or really who you were at all so I said screw it and I did. I remember I looked at your photographs first and was amazed to see not only photographs of celebrities and artists, but also your photographs from living abroad. I was already amazed by your photos but when I looked up and saw you I completely forgot about the photographs. I distinctly remember you looked at me like I was human, not some object that couldn't be touched and everyone had to tip toe around. I knew that at the moment I needed more people like that in my life so I told Riley that you were it. It was all I needed to see. But then when I heard about what you said to Zafrina, I really knew then that you needed to be a part of my life, even though at that time I only thought as my photographer. And how ignorant was I."

"So all it took was the way that I looked and acted around you to know that I would be right for the job?" Bella looks at me intently

"Pretty much."

Bella walks right over to me and pulls me into a kiss that takes my breath away. She arches her back as I lean into her and we look like two crescent moons. Her lips are on mine exploring with such fervor and intention, taking every last breath away from me. We continue until our lungs are dying for air and we pull away.

"You're all I've ever needed." She whispers into my lips.

I now realize that I was wrong on the day of the interview, I didn't need more people like Bella in my life; I needed Bella in my life.

Instead of responding, I tell her everything I need to say with my body, showing her how much my existence was surrounded by her and the massive positive change she's brought into my life. Because as long as Bella is by my side, nothing can be wrong in this world, and I will spend every second I'm with her letting her know that.

* * *

 **Ok, they're the cutest.**

 **As you might have already noticed, Bella's voice and music career is Julia Stone's. If you want to envision Bella's voice or hear the song she sang to Edward in this chapter, then listen to Julia Stone or click on the link in my profile. She's my favorite, if you can't tell ;)**

 **Don't forget to let me know about the playlist, give this chapter a review, and message me and come say hi!**

 **Also, a few visuals are posted ;)**

 **xx, S**


	20. Hoapili

**A/N: Hi you all!**

 **I'm sorry there wasn't a chapter last week. Insanely busy weekend for me!**

 **But, because I woke up to a text that school was cancelled, here I am with a new chapter.**

 **This isn't the surfing chapter yet, but it's coming up. Look for it next week.**

 **I mention a bunch of music in this chapter so do you guys still want a Beautifully Broken playlist? All the listening would be free so yay for free music!**

 **As always, look at the visuals and REVIEW!**

 **Love you guys.**

 **xx, S**

* * *

"Alright, take ten and we'll review the last set." I yell over to my busy crew. Everybody walks off or outside for a cigarette as I head over to the monitor where all the photos I'm taking are being projected.

"How they looking?" Lizzy, a.k.a Lana Del Rey's, approaches and looks through the pictures with me.

"Pretty good so far. What do you think?"

"I think they're almost as amazing as you." She blows me a kiss and walks off to refill her coffee.

Lizzy and I first met backstage at one of our LA shows when I was still touring with Matty. Matty and Lizzy knew each other from playing the same festivals and hanging out at award shows so she came to the show and her and I started talking. From there, Lizzy asked if I would be interested in shooting her and from then on I have done all of her album covers and album art.

After flipping through the whole set, I see they're all solid shots so I decide to call it a day.

"Hey guys, all of them great and we have a substantial amount to work with. We're done for the day and thanks for all your work. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend." I say into the earpiece radio that we all have. I head over to grab my stuff but am stopped by a delivery man carrying a bouquet of purple flowers with a yellow center. "Are you Isabella Swan?" he asks. I say yes and he hands the bouquet over to me after I sign for them. The little greeting card is peeking out of the bunch of flowers and I grab it curiously, wondering who sent these.

 _Bella,_

 _I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to say goodbye to you when I wrapped, but I'll be seeing you soon at the wrap party… Enjoy these Asters; I thought of you when I saw them._

 _-Jane_

Well. That was odd.

Her note was sweet, but it was totally a weird gesture to send me flowers just because we didn't say goodbye when it's obvious we do not like each other. I have to dismiss my questioning for now, though, because I am in an absolute rush.

I rapidly throw my bag over my shoulder, grab the flowers, and stick on my sunglasses as my assistants start to pack up my gear.

"Is it ok if I skip out and leave you guys with this? I have a place I need to be and am worried about traffic." I ask my trusted crew as they dismantle lights and shut down monitors. They all tell me to go and enjoy my weekend enthusiastically and I plant a kiss on Lizzy's cheek before practically sprinting to my car.

 _You can classify Edward's arms as my urgent place I need to be, right?_

I left Edward's Thursday night and he and I both slept terribly in absence of each other. The bed wasn't sunken in from his body, the sheets were cold, and his scent didn't overcome the room. I felt detached. We reunited early the next morning on set and it was like we hadn't seen each other in years when it was really 12 hours. Jane and Lauren had the day off, so the day flew by peacefully before Edward and I cooked dinner back at his place and ate together. It pained me, but I knew I couldn't stay the night with him last night because Jake would start to notice my frequent absence and get suspicious. It was like dragging a kid away from the playground, but I eventually left reluctantly and returned home last night. My sleep without him was like the night before's: disturbed and pretty much nonexistent.

This morning, I got up at 6 for this shoot and I was now speeding towards his house to reunite with him. Throughout the whole shoot I was getting weepy texts from Edward telling me to hurry up and come home; he even sent a pouty selfie of him in his bed alone. The stares I got when I gasped at the photo was humiliating. He had his messy hair, light stubble, and toned chest with the covers covering only below his stomach. The guy had just woken up but looked as though he was in a photoshoot. He's inhuman for looking that good in the early morning.

I finally reach the gate to Edward's place and zip up the driveway. He must have heard the familiar sound of my engine because when I get out of the car I see him walk out of the door and light up when he sees me. Thankfully, he still has no shirt on, and is standing in the door with his arms wide open and a smile. I forget my bags and run into his arms like one of those cheesy rom-coms.

"Hi Beautiful." He says into my hair as his head rests on mine. His sticks his finger under my chin and lifts my face to pull me into a passionate kiss. I tell him how much I've missed him with my lips as he does the same.

"God we're ridiculous." I mumble against his lips about the fact that it's been only 12 hours since I last saw him.

"And I wouldn't change a thing." He says back, kissing me quickly before I head back to turn off the music coming out of my car and grab my stuff.

"Who sent you flowers?" He stares at Jane's flowers in my hand as he waits for me by the door.

"Jane, actually." I say, still unsure of how to think of the gesture.

"Why would she send you flowers when she knows you don't like each other?"

"I asked myself the same thing." I was just as confused as he was.

He plucks the card she wrote me from the bouquet and reads it with a puzzled expression.

"Weird. Why Aster flowers?"

"Who the hell knows. They're pretty, though." I throw my stuff down at the door and hop up on his kitchen counter.

"How was the photoshoot?" He opens my legs so he can stand in between them.

"Good, it was great seeing Lizzy again and she loved the photos." I trace my finger along his scruffy jaw.

Edward plants a kiss on me and I moan into his mouth, enamored by his touch.

"Should I be embarrassed that I've been watching youtube videos on surfing this whole morning in preparation for tomorrow?" He asks adorably.

"No," I place a kiss on his chin. "It's not, and as a matter of fact I was thinking we could pick up lunch and head to my favorite place for surf gear. It's totally under the radar and the owner is a old man who's friend of mine so there won't be speculation." I ask, looking into his smiling eyes.

"Sounds perfect. I'm going to throw on some clothes so I don't look ridiculous standing next to you in that outfit and I'll be ready in a second."

He kisses me deeply once again and grabs my ass before escaping into his bedroom while I grab my purse.

"Come pick our weapon," he says once he comes out of his room, oozing of sex with a tight grey tshirt, jeans, and a beanie hanging off his head. The jeans showed off his ass, the shirt pressed against his muscles, and the beanie pulled his hair back showing off his incredible facial structure. To be honest, we looked pretty killer together with him wearing that and me wearing a flowy white tshirt with high-waisted denim cutoffs and a brown fedora.

I also admit that I seriously considered calling the paparazzi and throwing him to them wearing a sign that says "PROPERTY OF BELLA SWAN" just so everyone will know that he belongs to me.

Edward grabs my hand and leads me to a door that brings us to a room that makes my jaw hit the floor.

There was a whole underground wing of his house that I had no clue existed. His garage was entirely black and white marble containing the hottest cars and bikes I had seen in my whole life.

"Holy shit." I gasp, gaping at the cars with the overhead lights making them look like pieces of gold.

"Some call it an obsession, I call it a hobby." Edward says as he goes and leans against the hood of his navy Lamborghini, looking effortlessly like he's in one of those sexy, brooding cologne commercials. "Make your pick." He says heading over to where he stores the keys to all his cars; I wander around before settling on his silver Ferrari convertible. It was a gorgeous day and the road we're taking is along the beach so a convertible was necessary. The engine comes to life when Edwards ignites it making a loud hum and we speed out of the garage as I give him instructions of where to go.

We blast a mix of chillwave artists like Odesza, Ryan Hemsworth, Tycho, and Bonobo as we cruise down the coast parallel to the surfers and children splashing in the ocean. With the ambient beats enveloping us and his hand on my thigh, I experienced true bliss for the first time. We weaved in and out of the lanes, the wind whipping through my hair as the ocean air coated it with the salty-air smell that so distinctly reminds me of my childhoods spent at the beach. Since I was a baby, I chose to spend every free moment with the ocean. I saw the ocean as a motherly power, one that I can spend hours with and never feel lonely. Australian people, especially surfers, worship the ocean as a god and treat it as one as well. We have a deep respect for the ocean and we see it as an honor to surf in it.

"I'm pretty sure I was mental when I was a kid because I used to run down my porch to the ocean whenever I was sad and unload to it. I told it about my day, the boy who had just broken my heart, the fight I had gotten in with Rose, I really told the ocean everything. " I say to Edward during our conversation as we continue down the beachside highway.

"You weren't mental, everyone needs their outlets and there's nothing wrong with having a connection with the ocean. It was your safe place so it makes sense that you confided in it." He looks at me briefly before his eyes return to the road ahead of him. He didn't even look real with the beanie on his head and the wind blowing in the little pieces of hair that escaped from his hat. He had his sunglasses resting on his nose and hand gripping the wheel while the other was caressing my thigh.

"Everybody used to call me a disappearing act in high school because I always left campus during my free periods or lunch to surf but would then show back up right on time for the next period. I used to go alone and just spend time with the ocean and my surfboard. I forget about everything when I surf, it was my escape from the chaos of high school and it was the only committed relationship I really had back then."

"You sound exactly like me in high school with soccer. We would've gotten along really well." Edward remarks with a smirk.

We continue talking about surfing, soccer, and our dreams until we're pulling up to Hoapili, my most trusted surf shop in LA. The man who owns it grew up on Kauai and we bonded instantly because he is a true surfer; he isn't like the random LA people who surf to look cool, he sees the opportunity to surf in the ocean as a privilege and he really gets the true meaning behind surfing.

"Bella, E komo mai!" Kalei, the old man who runs the shop, says once I walk in the little surf shack with Edward. His name, which meant happiness, truly suited him because he never was without a jolly smile on his face. Kalei was probably 75 so it was obvious that Edward and I didn't have to worry about him leaking that he and I were out together. To be honest, I'm sure that he has no clue who Edward is.

"Aloha, Kalei." I say, giving him a hug in return. I introduce him to Edward and brief him on what we're looking for. After he and I walk around picking out equipment and the best wetsuit, I stuff Edward in the dressing room in the back and hand him stuff to try on.

"I feel like a fucking sausage." Edward yells from behind the curtain.

"Oh, come on, I bet you look hot!" I shout back

"I am being hugged in so many places that I didn't even know possible." Right then, Edward rips back the curtain and my jaw hits the floor. The tight wetsuit grabbed every muscle of his and with his usual sexy beach hair, he looked straight out every girl's wet dream.

"Oh my god" I say, taking a step back and taking all of Edward in.

"Is that a good oh-my-god or a bad oh-my-god?" Edward says looking at me with worry

"A very good oh-my-god." I reply, smiling like an idiot at the fact I got Edward to buy a wetsuit and start surfing.

"Come on, strike a pose." I whip out my phone.

Edward situates himself between the door of the dressing room and pushes his hand on the top corner of the door frame, leaning seductively. His other hand is on his hip and his hips are popped out dramatically as he gives me the best stereotypical, obnoxious male model pose.

"Oh, yes, work it." I exclaim, snapping pics of him posing like Zoolander.

I open up the pictures and we laugh hysterically at how they turned out. Edward was purposely posing like a male model on his first photoshoot and was making a ridiculous cheeks sucked in, pouty-kissy face.

"I don't give a shit what you say, this is going on your Instagram." I say, quickly opening up the app in case he starts to argue.

"I would normally protest, but it's too fucking good to not be seen by millions."

While I edit the photo, he changes back into his clothes and we head to pay for our stuff.

"Caption?" I ask while we're checking out.

"Hmmmm….. A Zoolander quote?"

I think through the movie before I remember the most perfect quote.

"Do you think there's more than life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?"

"Perfect. Done." Edward says in approval.

I type in the caption and hit post, throwing my phone back in my purse and grabbing our bags of surf apparel and gear.

"Lunch?" Edward asks while he reverses out of the parking lot.

"Yes, please, there's a great place about a mile away."

I lead him to one of my favorite place for food, Café Gratitude, but I ask him to pull over two blocks away from the street it's on.

"Everything ok?" Edward asks

"Yes, but it's definitely a trendy place so it wouldn't be safe for us to pull up together. I'll get out and walk and you take the car and park as normal so we'll walk in separately.

"I'm sorry we have to do this." Edward says sullenly after a few moments.

"It's ok, really, it is what it is and if this is what we have to do to be together, then so be it."

Edward smiles and kisses me passionately. I grab my purse and head down the block while Edward passes me and parks by the entrance. I enter the café and I see Edward reading the menu. Immediately, it is obvious that we were right about our decision because there's a couple in the corner staring, a group of high school girls "taking a selfie" when it's obvious they're just trying to get a picture of Edward, and the waiters are all huddled together whispering and looking while the rest of the customers are doing the same.

I slip past the group of high school girls squealing and whispering and place my order. I step to the side and Edward does the same while I casually play around on my phone while I wait. It was truly odd to have to act this way around somebody that I'm with. Before, I had the privilege of leaving the house whenever I wanted with my boyfriend and it never crossed my mind that I would someday have to have a three step plan to get lunch without being on the front page of a magazine.

Edward grabs his lunch, heads out of the restaurant, and zips off, rounding the corner. Afterwards, I grab my stuff and head down the block to find Edward in the same place he was before. I take a look round to make sure no photographers are hiding in the bushes or undercover and slip into the car before we speed away.

"We did it." Edward and I high five and put the music back on before we cruise back home.

EPOV

"I'll be back in an hour and a half." She didn't respond so I head over to the table by the window where Bella's work is spread across while she has her headphones on, concentrating on a photo she's editing.

When we got home from surf shopping, we had sex once again and laid in bed before we had to face our responsibilities. I have the field reserved tonight so I am heading over to play for an hour and Bella has to turn in these Lana photos to Nylon so she had to edit. I lift one of her headphones off her ear and tell her I'm leaving once again.

"By the way, 750k likes in 4 hours, Derek Zoolander." I laugh at the ridiculousness of it all and she kisses me deeply before I depart with a kiss on her nose.

When I slip in the car, my phone goes off and I see it's from the person I expected it to be from.

 _Will be there in an hour. Usual meeting spot?_

 **Yes. See you then.**

A pang of guilt stings me when I think about Bella; in theory, I wasn't lying, I just wasn't including all the information. I would tell her someday, I'm just not ready yet. In all honesty, though, I don't know if I ever will be ready.

 _Brace yourself, I'll take you on a trip down memory lane_ _  
_ _This is not a rap on how I'm slinging crack or move cocaine_

Kendrick Lamar echoes around the field as my soccer playlist continues on. Sweat is flying off of me as I sprint down the field, chasing the ball. I step over, scissor, and drag swerve the ball down the field, escaping the imaginary defenders on the field. I see the goal in the distance and pick up my speed even more so you couldn't see my legs because they were moving so fast. I lunge my left foot in front as a swing my right foot back and slam into the ball, making it soar into the goal at the top right corner. _Hell yeah._

I slow my pace and place my hands on my knees, trying to catch the little breath I have from sprinting up and down the field multiple times.

Just as the chorus of _m.A.A.d City_ is about to come up again, the music cuts off abruptly.

 _He's here._

The familiar bald head and all black attire of Felix emerges from the corner of the field as I begin my jog over to him.

"Evening, Felix," I say as I shake his hand. Even his handshake is intimidating.

His emotionless, stone expression stays the same while he pulls out a file for me as usual.

Every time, anxiety rips through my veins in anticipation.

"She has a recital coming up. Grades came in and she's doing well. Won the spelling bee, too." I flip through the pages of her reports that say she contributes intently in class and has shown excellence in the arts. The little photo of her in the corner of the page with a toothless, cheeky smile stares me in the eyes. I close the file abruptly, not wanting to revisit that place in my mind again. _Shut it down, Edward. Not now._

I get traumatized by these files I get every three months, yet I still request them. I feel it's my duty and I deserve every ounce of pain I feel. I'm a monster.

"And her father?" I ask in an emotionless tone.

"Same as usual. Gets her ready for school, goes to work, picks her up at school, plays with her on weekends. Perfect dad if you ask me."

 _No, it's not the same of usual. It will never be normal ever again because of me._

"Thank you, Felix." I stuff the file in my gym bag and shake his hand.

"See you in December. Three months, correct?" He asks, his same serious self.

"Yes. See you then." I shake his hand and walk over to the audio system to disconnect my iPhone. I slump on the bench on the sidelines and chug down a water bottle, hanging my head low.

I had to tell Bella, but how? I bet she'll see me as the monster I am and run right out of my life.

I wouldn't put it past her.

Burying the file under my pile of gym clothes and soccer equipment, I shut off the stadium lights before slipping into my car to return home to Bella.

All I can do right now is figure out a way to tell her about my past and pray that she'll understand when I tell her.

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN!**

 **What did Edward do?**

 **You'll have to keep reading to figure out, my loves ;)**

 **xx, S**


	21. It Comes in Waves

**A/N: Happy Valentines Day, my valentines! Hope you had a wonderful day.**

 **Now it's time for an entirely EPOV chapter. Let's just say this chapter will leave you thinking #Squadgoals. Step aside, Taylor Swift Squad.**

 **There are a BUNCH of visuals for this chapter and I am working on a playlist for you guys, too. We also get to talk to Angus!**

 **Give this chapter a big, loving review for me and look at the visuals.**

 **Also, follow me on twitter ( TheMadOnes4) because I post when I'm updating there and do extra visuals, teasers, polls, etc.**

 **Also, I have a question for you all. Would you like a Bella visual? I haven't put in Bella or Edward visuals on purpose, but would you guys like a Bella visual? I have one in mind. The only reason why I ask is because she doesn't quite look like the Bella from Twilight. I can post a picture of the girl I entirely use for inspiration for Bella in this story, and I just mix her features with Kristen Stewart's in my mind. Would you like to see the picture board I use for Bella? Either leave your answer in a review or I will be posting an anonymous poll on my twitter (my handle is TheMadOnes4) that you can vote in. It will be up for a week. PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS!**

 **Keep an eye out for the playlist, too!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

EPOV

"Alice, I think we have enough beer." I tell my devilish sister who's putting another case of Magic Hat in the cart.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with leftovers." She skips off toward the next aisle to probably double the size of this already full cart.

I feel my phone buzz in the pocket of my swim shorts and see the familiar name of Bella's flash on the screen.

 _I'm with my crew right now… Should be picking you all up in a hour. Did you see what I left you this morning? ;)_

My mouth instantly waters when I think back to the warm cinnamon bun that was waiting on the kitchen counter for me when I woke up. Bella got up and went to my favorite café to get me a coffee and my favorite cinnamon bun before she had to leave. My friends were coming to my house and her's were going to her place so she had to leave early in the morning so it looked liked she slept at her place and not naked in my arms.

 **You know I did… You're the best. Did you get home alright?**

 _Everything went smoothly. Put on my robe when I got there and made my bed look slept in so they didn't expect a thing._

 **You know how I love that robe... Are Emmett and Rose there yet?**

 _They're a few minutes away. Speaking of children, I've got to run because the kids are fighting over the last muffin. By kids I mean Alec, Dylan, and Alana, of course. See you soon._

 **Godspeed.**

I chuckle when I hit send because I can perfectly visualize the three fighting over a muffin and Bella screaming at them trying to break it up like a kindergarten teacher.

"Alright, we got the margarita shit, fish, beer, guacamole, and chips." James dumps enough stuff to feed a family while Jasper dumps in all the other stuff we need for grilling out.

"Oh, one more thing." Mike bolts out of the aisle, ignoring my calls for him to come back because we have enough to feed a decent sized country for a few months. Jessica and Alice return with more unnecessary stuff and dump it into the cart.

"Who the fuck do you think is paying for all this? Let me remind you we're in a place where its nickname is Whole Paycheck. " I ask, wide eyed at the amount of shit we have and imagining the prices of all this stuff at Whole Foods' prices.

"Well, I mean we do have the world's highest paid actor in our presence." Jessica bats her lashes, but I just roll my eyes. We're heading to checkout when Mike runs back, throwing a final item in the cart.

I eye him when I see he's throwing in a pack of Trojan condoms and he's staring back at me with a knowing look.

"And who are these for?" I ask, holding them in his face between my middle and fore finger

"You." He states obviously.

"Care to elaborate?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him

"Oh come on, dude, you _need_ to fuck Bella." He pleads.

 _Been there done that, my friend_

"No." I place the condoms back on a shelf.

"Yes." Mike retrieves them and puts them back in the cart.

"No, I'm not, I bet she has a boyfriend anyways." I say, trying to think of excuses.

"We know that she's perfectly single, so if you're not fucking her then I will." James interjects the conversation and reaches over to grab them.

My blood boils over and just when I'm about to lose control and lash out, Alice intercepts the encounter and takes them out of James' hands.

"Considering Bella is a human being and not an object, nobody will be fucking her." I breathe a sign of relief at Alice's save while James groans in annoyance and I head to pay for our groceries.

"Alice, we're going to the beach, not the Oscars." I yell at Alice who's changing her outfit for the millionth time.

"Seriously, babe, you look gorgeous."

"Ugh, fine." Alice stomps off settling on a blue cover up over a beaded, multicolored bikini.

I open my phone while I wait for Bella to arrive and see a new text for her.

I can't hold out the belt of laughter that escapes my mouth when I see a picture that a fan must have sneaked in Whole Foods. I was standing there with the condoms in between my fingers, yelling at Mike who at that time had probably was still trying to convince me to fuck Bella. I see Bella's text with the picture is simply "oh?" and the tongue emoji. A handful of people asked for pictures or autographs in Whole Foods, so it wasn't unusual for people to sneak pictures, but I could see how easily this one was taken out of context.

I decide to shoot back a silly text message and chuckle to myself as I send it.

 **In this photo, you can clearly see one Edward Cullen yelling at a Mike Newton for getting the wrong size condoms. As you can observe, Mike mistakenly got XL not XXXL, which is a bit small for Cullen, but they do not make any bigger ones. "Newton will never make the mistake again, he should know better." a close source reports.**

"What are you laughing about over there?" Jasper asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

I look at Bella's screenshot and pull up the Instagram of where the picture came from.

"I just found this in my tagged pictures." I hold the phone out and everyone starts laughing hysterically at my pissed off expression with the condoms held in my hand. I freeze when I feel my phone buzz in my hand and curse myself for not waiting to respond to Bella until after I showed them the picture. Now, it was clear that Bella was texting me with the "Bella Swan New iMessage" alert that just popped up on the screen.

"Uh oh, Edward, looks like you're got a text from your girlfriend." James jokes as I pull the phone away and act casually, trying to play it off.

"Well, James, I wouldn't call her my girlfriend since she's just texting me that they're just five minutes away."

"Mmmmhmmm. Whatever you say." Jessica says. I roll my eyes and she smiles in response. "Don't worry, we're just playing with you. We know you're only friends."

 _Lie, lie, such a lie._

"Yeah, that's all it is. Plus, she works for me." I say nonchalantly, lying through my teeth.

I discreetly open the text from Bella and see it's most definitely _not_ a casual text saying she's a few minutes away.

Instead, it's an adorable selfie of her making a funny face wearing a white off the shoulder top and the top half of her hair is up in a bun on top of her head. Her skin's as luminous and bronzed as ever, a contrast from her bright green eyes, strikingly light in the sun. I see below the picture is a short message. **Shame. Thought they were for me.**

My dick is exceptionally hard and threatening to poke out through the thin material of my swim shorts, so I cross my legs, trying to get it down.

 _Fuck, I hate the fact that people besides me are going to see her walking around half naked in a bikini._

 **Also, just got a call and I'm having a photo showcase two weeks from now :)**

I smirk as I type out a response, incredibly proud of her. I love looking at her photos and I'm beyond happy to see her share even more of her art with the world.

 _You know I'll be there with a giant poster and a shirt saying Bella Swan's #1 Fan._

"They're here!" Alice pops out of her seat and runs to the door after seeing a van pull up with surfboards tied on top and indie music pouring out of it.

"Come on, bitches, it's time to get sand stuck in our crotches." Dylan yells out the window as he hits the side of the van, calling us over. My whole crew jumps in the van that suddenly explodes into cheering as we climb in.

There are bro hugs, squealing, and high fives all around as we act as if we haven't seen each other in months, like always.

We were family, it was that simple.

When I'm sure people are distracted greeting each other, I turn and see Bella behind the wheel with her favorite John Lennon-esque round Ray Bans that I now know she can't leave the house without. The same adorable bun from the photo is on her head and fuck-hot off the shoulder outfit. Every time I see her, even if I had seen her five seconds earlier, my breath catches in my throat and my stomach flip flops for a second. Our eyes meet and Bella smiles sheepishly as I throw a wink towards her.

"Alright kids, buckle up." Bella yells over everybody once all our coolers and beach bags are loaded in. We pull out of my driveway as we head on the highway along the beach that Bella and I rode together just yesterday. I smile at the memory of the most gorgeous, incredible girl by my side as I whipped down the road along the crashing waves. It was one of the happiest memories of my life.

Bella DJs the whole way, playing Day Wave, Houndmouth, Peace, Alabama Shakes, and Beck while we all sing along to the few songs we were familiar with. It was quickly discovered that Bella's secret talent was finding incredible, undiscovered bands. Her music taste was incredible and often lined up with what I listened to. Right as we're about the scream the chorus of Give Me All Your Love by Alabama Shkaes, the music cuts off and Bella's phone starts to ring.

"Oh come on that was the best fucking part!" Emmett yells and we all groan in response.

"Well tell that to your brother-in-law, not me." Bella says, glaring at Emmett through the rearview mirror.

"Is that Angus?" Alana and Leila screech in response.

"It sure is." Bella responds as all of Bella's friends cheers in response while my crew sits confused.

"Wait who's Angus?" Jessica asks, puzzled as the rest of my friends, and I pretend to be just as confused even though I know all about Angus.

"My idiot brother." Bella jokes as she slides her finger to answer the call.

"Hey dumbass you're on speaker; my phone's connected to Alec's van's bluetooth." Bella says as she merges lanes

"Good morning to you too, loser." A raspy, rich Australian accents echoes through the speakers of the van.

"What's up, bro?" Alec shouts and all of Bella's friends say their greetings in unison.

"Hello, dear ol' brother of mine." Rose chimes in.

"Jesus, Rose, we need to get you back down under, you practically have no accent left. Meanwhile most Americans can't even understand half the shit Bella and I are saying because of our so-called foreign accents."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll all be down there in two months." Rose replies. Even over the phone Rose, Bella, and Angus's connection is obvious. They were a trio.

"Who else is with you guys?" Angus asks.

"We've got all of us, Edward, his sister, and their crew." Bella answers

"Oh, shit, I've got to keep my chill." Angus jokes and I hear Bella mumble idiot under her breath.

"It's nice to unofficially meet you, Angus," I respond.

"You as well, brother." It was clear that he was just as welcoming and kind as Bella; he was calling me brother after I spoke five words to him. James, Mike, Jasper, Alice, and Jessica all introduce themselves over the phone and he welcomes them just as warmly.

"Alright, what do you want because if you must know, your phone call interrupted us right before we were going to belt out the chorus of Give Me All Your Love so this better be important. Edward was going to hit Brittany Howard's high note, too." It was true, I was getting ready to belt that shit.

"Damn, I should be arrested for that. I'm so sorry for interrupting such a beautiful moment."

"Damn straight" Emmett shouts

"Well, I just finally finished mixing It Was Blue and wanted to let you know that the mp3 is in your inbox." Angus says to Bella.

"Hell yeah!" Bella pumps her fist into the air

"Ooh! Is that the song you guys started writing a few weeks ago?" Rose pipes in

"You bet it is." Angus replies. "I'm going to let you guys go so you can listen to it. Let me know what you think when you're done."

"Will do. Love you and don't forget to water the succulents I sent to you." Bella warns

"You're so funny, I was _just_ about to do that!" Angus lies, making it apparent that those succulents definitely haven't been watered in days.

"Mmmhm. Yeah. Ok." Bella speaks, not believing a word of what he said. "I'll talk to ya."

"Love you" Angus says right before hanging up the phone.

"Jesus, your whole family is so sweet." Jessica chimes in right after the call ends.

"Seriously, your parents must be so chill." James adds.

"Yeah, Bella and I are very lucky." Rose answers, squeezing Bella's shoulder.

"So Bella, what's this new song Angus was talking about?" Alice questions

"We wrote it during a late night skype session about two weeks ago for Angus to sing. He and I went back and forth sending rough cuts and our edits and it's finally done."

"Wait, your last name is Swan, right?" Mike interjects

"Yeah." She replies curiously

"Yeah, her brother's Angus Swan; we saw him at Coachella last year." I say to my friends who are putting the pieces together, wondering how they recognized his name.

"Oh my god I love his stuff!" Alice exclaims, practically jumping out of her seat.

"Yeah he's awesome, he and I were a duo before I moved to the states but I still write all his songs with him." Bella adds

"Really? Can we hear the new one he just sent?" Jasper pipes in

Bella flips through her phone until we hear the heavy, muted strumming of an electric guitar. It has a classic rock feel and the intensity of the guitar increases until Angus breaks the tension with his voice.

 _It was blue against the wall_

 _It was over, over when we got there_

 _It's a gravestone up ahead_

 _It's an old man in your head_

 _No I don't need ya now_

 _No I never need ya before_

 _No I don't need ya now_

 _Hell I don't need ya anymore_

 _In my head_

The song continues to go on, blasting from the speakers as we continue speeding down along the beach as if the driving was matched to the intense, badass feel of the song. I had to admit, when you are listening to the song you feel as though you could possible be the coolest person on the planet. It had a total classic rock, angsty feel; a far cry from Angus's indie folk chill out songs, but still totally his vibe. One thing for sure is that his music always was mysterious in some way, no matter what. The final strumming pattern of the guitar comes to an end and the song fades out perfectly.

"OH SHIT!" Emmett belts, breaking the three minute silence we all had while listening to the song "Hell yeah, that's my brother in law, bitches!" Emmett booms once again. I didn't even have to ask to know that Emmett and Angus were close.

"Damn, Swan!" James adds on as the rest of us cheer and clap at the end.

"I swear I felt as though I could have been walking in slow motion with a leather jacket, shades, and a cigarette with the wind blowing through my hair listening to that. It's badass, dude." Alec compliments, squeezing Bella's shoulder.

"It's cool, huh?" Bella replies

We all demand her to play it another time and this time we know the chorus so Rose films a video of all of us belting _No I don't need ya now, No I never need ya before_ and so on through the whole song to send to Angus, letting him now it definitely has our approval.

As if it was planned, right when the song ends, Bella pulls off the road and down this dirt road and stops right at the end of it. "Alright. Brody, Alec, and Dylan: you untie the boards. Bella, Camille, Alana, Leila, and I will grab the wax and tool kit. Edward and Emmett, you get the food. Alice and Jessica, you bring the towels, and James and Mike, you bring the speakers. Got it?" Rosealie spits out this plan for us like a sergeant in the military. We empty out of the van and separate to do the different tasks. Everybody is carrying something as we begin a walk down a dirt path which pretty much is in the middle of nowhere.

"I thought we were going actual surfing, not mud surfing." Mike says, grabbing his flip flop that got stuck in the wet mud as we were walking down the path.

"Oh, shut up, the beach is right down here. It's just super secluded but that's good for us." Alana remarks, leading the way with Bella.

Just as she said, we continue walking for another minute until the trees and bushes clear out until a gorgeous little cove, with untouched warm sand and electric blue water.

"Holy shit, who knew this could be in SoCal." Jasper says, his face lit up with excitement.

"We found this spot a few years ago and claimed it as our territory. Other surfers have tried to surf it but once they knew it was ours they have backed off. It's our slice of paradise." Dylan says as he lays down the stack of boards he carried while the other guys do the same.

Before we even have a chance to set our stuff down, all eyes revert to Bella, who's stripping off her cheeky denim shorts under her off the shoulder top. My eyes grow large as she pulls at the hem of her top, lifting it to first reveal a pair of white bikini bottoms that didn't come close to covering her entire ass. She arches her back and pulls the top completely off, turning around to grab her bag, revealing her barely there bikini top. The white bikini top wrapped around her chest twice and tied in the back, fully revealing the special tattoo right below the center of her boobs that took my breath away my first night with her. The whiteness of her bikini made her skin appear even darker and she looked like any male's wet dream with the tattoo on her chest and arms, messy beach hair, impeccable beauty, and all around sexiness. _I was a lucky mothefucker._

"Oh my…" My head snaps towards James, who's standing with Mike and Jasper, staring at Bella slack jawed.

James jumps when Jessica slaps him and flushes slightly when he realizes he said that out loud.

"What…?" Bella looks up from her project of making the playlist for today and looks at us puzzled, completely oblivious to what's going on. Here she was looking like a fucking goddess and everyone's staring at her, yet she has no clue why. _Oh, Bella._

"Nothing…" Alice smirks and turns on her heel, walking away with a smug smile that basically says _that's my girl_.

We turn our attention to something else, breaking the awkwardness of Bella catching all of us staring at her like an alien.

"Just so you know, these speakers will be really fucking loud because we play it so we can surf to music." Right then, the music starts playing and we begin to set up our spots in the sand. Bella gets up and grabs her surfboard from under the pile and walks over with it under her arm.

"Holy shit, your board is dope." Jasper says, propping up on his elbows to look at it as she lays it in the sand to get ready to wax it. Her board was entirely white except for on the front, where there was an abstract, native american girl in a headdress. The paint was all different tones of blue, greens, and yellows and the paint strokes were stripy and the end of the girl's head looks like it's dripping off the board. "My friend back in Oz is an artist and dreamed up this design and went crazy on my board. I fell in love with it when she showed it to me after it was done."

"Has she done any more for you? They're so cool." Jessica questions

"She's actually working on one right now that will be used as an art piece and will be hung in the house. She's shattering a mirror and collaging the pieces on the board so the board looks like a splintered mirror."

"That's dope, I can't wait to see it."

"Hey Dylan can you throw me pink sex?" Bella asks, kneeling at her board. Everybody looks confused except for Bella's friends who didn't even blink an eye at the comment.

"Sex wax, you idiots." Bella snarks, rolling her eyes.

We all let out a long "Ohh" in unison, realizing the implications of what she said. Bella rubs away at her board, talking to Jessica, Alec, and Emmett while the rest of us are sunbathing and in casual conversation.

I notice Camille get up and walk off, keeping an eye on Bella. I think nothing of it until I see her, now in just a bikini, speed by Bella with a board under her arm, smacking her ass as she speeds by. Bella's face whips up to see Camille running away right towards the ocean.

"Oh it's on, Brady." Bella's on her feet running right towards the ocean with Camille and her board in an instant and we all follow to the water's edge. Like the music could sense that Camille and Bella were heading for a surf off, _Drag_ by Day Wave comes on and the indie rock sounds bump out of the speakers, projecting the sound out to the ocean. All eyes are on Bella when the water is now at hip height and a wave is coming. She jumps to lay flat on the board and right before the wave is about to hit, she presses her knee into the board and pushes her ass into the air, tipping the board forward, diving under the wave.

 _Bella's wet ass in a cheeky bikini pushed in the air? Well that was the most erotic sight I've ever seen._

After the wave passes, I see the tip of the board poke out and Bella reemerges, her whole body drenched and all you can see is her legs and ass and arms paddling out rapidly. Her and Camille are calling off a plan and Bella says for Camille to go first. Once they're far out enough, Camille turns herself around on the board and waits for the wave in the distance. Bella pushes herself up and straddles the board, closing her eyes and rubbing her hands down her long, wet hair that now hits above her ass.

Even from here you can see her green eyes and she looks straight out of Maxim straddling the board, wet in that smoldering bikini, hair dripping down her back, and tattoos scattered over her tanned, glistening skin in the sun. A wave comes and Camille starts paddling faster and faster until she pushes up on her feet and rides the wave beautifully. Carving in and out, she finishes off the run gracefully and jumps off once she slows down. We all clap for her and I laugh when I see Jasper, Emmett, and the boys holding up signs with their scores, which range from 8 to 9.5.

My eyes shift over to Bella as a huge wave pummels toward her, still sitting up on her board looking at the waves in the distance. You can tell her brain's going about the distance and projected power of the waves, trying to choose which one to go for. Right before the huge wave hits her, she wraps herself around the board and turns her and her body upside down, so you only see the underside of the board as the wave crashes over. Once the wave disappears, we see her reemerge and flip herself back over, acting as if a huge wave didn't just go over her head.

Bella spots the wave she must've chosen coming closer and she begins to situate her board forward. Within a few seconds, the wave looks like it's about to break and Bella has it timed perfectly because she's paddling with the wave. Right when the whitewater begins to show and the wave breaks, Bella jumps up flawlessly, riding in the barrel of the wave, and we see her emerge from the barrel and carve up towards the peak of the wave.

In a flawless motion, she launches herself and is up in the air before she lands perfectly back on the wave. We all throw our hands up and cheer, amazed by how high she got in the air and how she landed flawlessly. She continues carving in and out, riding the wave like it was elementary and coming out of it without a hitch. Once the wave finishes and she's just riding the surface of the water, she begins to do a victory dance to ODESZA, which is now blaring out of the speakers. She jumps off her board and walks out of the water, looking like some sex goddess mermaid that just came out of the ocean after living there forever. The boys deliberate and after awhile, they all hold up 10s and start whooping and cheering.

"That's how you do it, Brady!" Bella yells at Camille who's standing with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes, but still laughing.

"Oh, suck it, Swan." She says, still acting pissed. When Bella hits land, though, she walks over and they shake hands, smiling.

Afterwards, we all run over to Bella and hug her, telling her how crazy what she just did was and we all do the same to Camille, who still was pretty damn amazing. "Now who wants to learn from the master?" Bella says, holding her arms out, waiting to teach someone to surf.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me!" Alice pops right up and ignores the rest of us saying we want to go and she moves to bounce next to Bella.

"Ok, lets go, sister."

"I don't need a board?" Alice asks, motioning to the pile of them my the speakers

"Nope, you're using mine." Bella heads to the ocean's edge, but Alice remains on the shore.

"You comin'?" Bella asks

"I just got really nervous. Those waves are much bigger up close." Alice says timidly.

"Alice, do you really think I would ever put yourself in danger? Yes, surfing can be dangerous, but these waves aren't big at all which is why we brought you guys here and I can promise you you'll be fine with me."

Alice deliberates a moment before taking an unsure step and eventually moving towards Bella's extended hand.

We all cheer for Alice and reassure her, telling her she'll be great.

Bella explains a few things to her before she instructs Alice to lay down on the board. Bella waits until the waves are calmer and she heads underwater, pushing Alice on the board forward. Alice begins to paddle while Bella swims next to her, pushing her forward at the same time. Once they're far out enough, Alice remains still as Bella instructs her while treading water next to her. Alice nobs and turns the board forward while Bella grabs on the side of the board facing the opposite way, watching the waves. Once she spots one, she tells Alice to get ready and with a few seconds, Bella is swimming and pushing the board forward as fast as she can until the wave begins to break and she lets go, letting Alice on her own. I watch nervously as Alice shakily gets on all fours and rides out the wave, almost falling a few times. We all cheer and this goes on and each time she gets higher until by the seventh try, she stands up for a few seconds before falling over. It's adorable seeing Bella bobbing in the middle of the ocean with her hands up, cheering for Alice for getting up on her first try.

Bella swims in with Alice and we all give Alice a group hug, and Bella hugs Alice congratulating her on her great first run. We decide to take a quick break and start to bring out the food and grills.

"Hey." I turn to my left and see Bella standing next to me and I start to slowly back away so we can separate ourselves from the group who's conversing and trying to set up the grill.

"You're amazing out there, do you know that?" I try my hardest not to smile like an idiot so if people looked at us it wouldn't look like we were having the conversation we were.

"It was surprisingly fun surfing waves that are smaller than I'm used to. I was thinking that maybe, while they are busy making lunch, I could bring you out there? Might be a good time since they're distracted…"

"I though you'd never ask." My heart skips a few beats when I think of being alone with Bella in the middle of the sea where no one can hear what we're saying or really see what we're doing clearly. Plus I've reached my limit of refraining from touching her in that bikini.

"Hey guys, Bella's going to bring me out while you're setting this up." I throw my sunglasses down on the towel and walk back toward the shore where Bella's waiting for me with her board.

"You guys don't want lunch?" Rose shouts towards us.

"We're just squeezing this in before lunch. We won't be long at all." Bella yells back. They return to igniting the grill and Bella and I head into the water. She does the same thing with me as she did with Alice and lays out the basics of what I need to know and the plan for what I should do. "Come back to me after your first run, though…" I wiggle my eyebrows at her, hoping she's suggesting what I think she's suggesting.

"What? I haven't kissed or touched you since this morning. I have my needs." She shrugs

"As do I, my lady." I wink at her and she smiles before pushing me forward, instructing me to paddle. She keeps up her speed next to me on the board, pushing me along until everybody on the beach is quite small in the distance. She spins me around like she did with Alice and watches the waves in the distance.

"What are you doing in your head as you watch those waves?" I ask curiously

"I'm thinking about the swells and trying my best to use basic physics with surfing to calculate which wave will be the best one to surf."

"So you're some crazy science genius?" I ask, impressed by her knowledge of physics.

"No, hardly. It's just something you gain a basic understanding of when you start surfing." She replies. "Ok, I see one. I'll push you forward in about thirty seconds and you start paddling. When you feel me push you forward and I let go, try getting up on all fours or getting in a squat. Then I'll be back in this spot so come back to me over here."

"Yes Ma'am." I respond and before I know it, Bella's pushing me out and I'm riding the wave in a squat-like pose. I had to admit, it was much harder than it seemed to even lift my body up. It was like one imbalanced move and I was tipping over which is why Bella flawlessly flying up in the air seems even more amazing to me once I know how hard it is to even lift my chest off the board.

I finish off the wave feeling accomplished and paddle back out to Bella.

"You did it!" She yells with her hands in the air as I approach her. She's beaming up at me, smiling like an idiot.

"All credit to the teacher." I whip my head around and see that everybody's preoccupied by the grill or making sandwiches.

I smile at this fact and look back at Bella, her eyes sparkling and her hair floating around her in the turquoise water.

"Go under." I order and roll off the board so we're both staring at each other, bobbing in the waves.

Bella sexily slips underwater and I follow suit. Once we're fully submerged, I pull her to me and envelop her in the hottest kiss I've ever had. She wraps her arms around me and her hand's on my cheek as we kiss each other with so much passion, completely underwater, in our own world. There's always been a fascination with being underwater, where you can be in the same place as somebody on dry land, but in a completely different realm, out of their sight. We separate once my breath runs out and reemerge, smiling widely at each other. "I've missed that more than you know." She states.

"Trust me, I know." I respond.

I continue for a few runs and get up on my fifth try, feeling smug as hell. We kiss occasionally when we're sure no one's looking and eventually head in when we start to smell the seafood cooking and hear the margaritas being made.

"Congrats, dude, you got up like a big boy." Jasper says, slapping me on the back as I flip him off.

"Hey, you try and stand up on one of those." I snap back.

"Margaritas are ready" Emmett booms, pouring the margarita mix and tequila over ice. I pile my plate with the fish tacos we made and collapse onto the beach, margarita in hand.

I peek open an eye to see Bella, who sadly has her cover up back on, sit next to me. "The only thing that could make this situation even better than it already is would be you and me, naked, rolling in the sand, lying in the sun, and surfing for the rest of the day." I smirk when I notice her toes curl into the sand and see her cheeks flush. "Don't worry, that it definitely in the near future." Before I can respond, everybody heads over to sit with us with their drinks.

"Hey," Bella shouts, getting our attention. "While you're all here, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be having a photo showcase in West Hollywood two weeks from now, and I'd love for you all to be there."

"Hell yeah we'll be!" Mike shouts and everybody else cheers, making Bella's cheeks blush an apple red.

"TOAST!" Emmett shouts at Jasper, who's now raising his glass.

"Now, if you know know then you know I hate pussy shit,"

"Cough, says the male model, cough." Emmett cuts off Jasper, earning a fistful of sand being thrown at him.

"Anyways, as I was saying before the Meathead-John-Mayer-Wannabe interrupted me, this won't me the sentimental pussy shit I hate. I just wanted to raise a glass to Edward and Bella, because without them, we wouldn't have all met each other and I wouldn't be able to call you my best friends and most importantly my family." Jasper raises his glass high in the air and we do the same, cheering and spreading words of love. I turn to see the girl beside me, her long mermaid-like hair messy from the ocean water reflecting light from the sun, beaming and looking like the most gorgeous girl on the planet. For a second, I see this family expanding and us doing this again years later, but with little kids of our own.

Jasper was completely right. If it wasn't for Bella applying for this job, I have no clue where I would be now. It's only been a bit over a month, but it feels like it's been an eternity with her. All I want to do is kiss her, but instead I excuse myself and separate from the group, pulling out my phone.

I open up Felix's text, pleased that he found the phone number I was asked for this morning. I hit call on the number and wait a few seconds before a familiar voice comes over the line.

"Hello?"

"Angus? This is Edward Cullen. Bella doesn't know I'm calling you, but I need your advice."

We spend the next fifteen minutes conversing after I explain my idea to him and he offers his opinion, supplying me with the sound advice that I was seeking.

"Yeah, so just explain what I said to you about recommending her Indonesia photo she took a few summers ago to be the centerpiece of the gallery and possibly doing a reveal of it after the crowds have left. Also don't forget to ask Jake my favor, too."

"Got it. Thanks so much man, you know her so well so I knew you would be the one to ask about this."

"It isn't a problem." He responds

Right before I close the conversation, though, he cuts me off.

"And Cullen? Just know that if you ever break her goddamn heart I will personally fly the 14 hours to Los Angeles just to beat your face in. Got it?" He says in a voice octaves lower than the one he was using before.

"Trust me, you have full permission to ruin me if I ever do." I respond truthfully. I would hate myself forever if I hurt her.

"Good. Call me back tomorrow, brother. Sorry for the threat earlier, but it's my bortherly duty."

"Totally get it, man. I'm glad she has a brother like you. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I hang up the phone and head back to the group, feeling like a kid excited for Christmas but also like I may shit my pants with anxiety.

They weren't joking when they said this relationship shit wasn't easy.

* * *

 **So... Angus knows! So far Riley and Angus know. Who's next?**

 **PSA: Edward is NOT proposing to Bella! I'm not that kind of author who give the dessert before dinner. These two have a LONG way to go before that even becomes an option.**

 **Keep your eye out for a very sweet new chapter soon. I'm excited to write this one :)**

 **Look at the visuals and also THERE IS A LINK TO "THIS IS BLUE" THERE! Check it out!**

 **See you next week.**

 **xx, S**


	22. Shelter

Hi you guys! A lot has happened so lets get into it...

1\. I'm sorry for not updating, but I recently just got diagnosed with giardia and am practically sleeping all day with no energy to write. I'll be back on track soon, though, once this treatment is over!

2\. I listened to you guys and I created a **Bella visual**! Linked in my profile :) And if your asking, the girl I mainly use for Bella inspiration, besides Kristen Stewart, is named Mimi Elashiry.

3\. BIG NEWS! I have been away from writing because I've been so busy celebrating... For those of you who don't know, I work in interior design but my heart's always been with fashion design (hence all the Bella outfit visuals... they're my favorite!). I just found out that I will be moving to the island of Maui for the summer to work for an incredible clothing line... I never thought this would be happening at all, let alone before I'm even 20 years old. My dreams of working for a fashion designer when I was a little girl are really coming true. I am so excited about this opportunity and this all shows that hard work and sacrifice really does pay off. Get ready for even more island and surf influence in this story, though, since in four months I'll be writing these chapters from a beach house in Maui watching the surfers roll by. Also, I'll be on another island for two and a half weeks starting next Thursday. Woo hoo!

I think that's all for now...

Any who, this is a ginormous chapter and is a bit angsty. Not too much, I promise! Just trust me and read till the end.

I love you guys :)

Even if you don't look at visuals, I highly recommend looking at the Bella visual for an idea of the Bella that I've created along with this story. Also, review at the end of this! 

xx, S

* * *

BPOV

"Mom, I swear, we'll figure it out. Just stop stressing because now I'm stressing and I can feel my hair falling out." My eyes flick up from my screen to Edward, who just walked into my office, wearing his normal uniform of grey sweatpants and no shirt.

"Okay, I love you too." He hangs up the phone and lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Everything ok with your mom?"

"Yeah, that's the thing. Everything is absolutely fine, but she's freaking out for no reason. We just still haven't thought of a place to go for thanksgiving. My grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles all have a tradition of meeting up somewhere different each thanksgiving and my mom's losing her mind just because we don't have a clue of where to go and she was just venting to me."

I deliberate of whether or not I should mention the thought I've had since I heard about this dilemma the first time a few weeks ago. Friends and family would know about us by then, right? I don't want to scare him, but I figure I should just throw out the idea as nonchalantly as possible.

This was one of the biggest curses of having anxiety. Overthinking. Every little detail and thought is stressed over and worried about for no reason.

 _Just tell him your idea, Bella. He's in this as much as you are._

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you guys could visit Australia." I blurt out probably too fast for anybody to comprehend.

Edward's eyes shoot up from his phone to look at me, practically cowering behind my huge desktop on my desk.

"You know what, forget I said that. I just replayed it in my head and to be honest it's a stupid idea plus the flight is super long and-"

"That's a great idea." Edward cries out excitedly, cutting my anxious rant off.

"Really?"

"Yeah, none of us have been as far as I know. Will you be there?"

"Yeah, actually. I don't want to assume anything, but I think our friends and family will know about us by then, and I thought it could be a good opportunity to, I don't know, maybe officially meet each other's families?"

"Bella," he walks to kneel down at me behind my desk, "Why were you so worried about recommending this" He tucks a piece of hair that fell out of the clip holding it up behind my ear.

"I don't know, I mean, I think it's an appropriate time but I wasn't sure if you would think I was going too fast or how you felt about meeting my family, and I wasn't sure of you wanted your family to meet me… I don't know." I look at my fingers fidgeting in my lap.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?" I look up at him, smiling at me gently. "If I have to repeat myself for a million years until you understand this, I will. I am serious about you, Bella." He says affirmatively and pulls me into a kiss that shows me exactly what he meant. His words may be hard for my brain to grasp, but his touches weren't.

"Want to go for a run?" He asks once I pull away from his touch that left me breathless.

"Sounds good." I smile against his lips and he pecks me once again before we head to get ready.

"I don't think I've every heard my mom so relieved in my life." I divert my eyes from the crashing waves in front of me to Edward walking down from the house to join me on the beach wearing track pants, a white tshirt, and a baseball hat.

 _Who the hell can make workout clothes look like that?_

"So I assume your talk went well?"

Once Edward and I got ready, he called his mom to tell her about our idea of going to Australia. He and I decided to make it sound like he thought of the idea and then called me for an opinion and I said that I coincidentally would be there at the same time and recommended that we should meet up. Meanwhile, I waited by the ocean for him to finish his call so we could start our run down the beach.

"Very. She loves the idea and is sending out an email to the family letting them know that we will be heading to Byron Bay, Australia for thanksgiving. They just don't know that's your hometown and that you'll be there yet."

We begin our light jog along the crashing waves and the shrill cry of the seagulls. "When do you think we should tell our extended families?" I ask curiously.

"Well, as long as your comfortable with it, I think we should tell our immediate family and close friends before them. I actually was going to talk to you about that, when do you think we should tell our close friends and immediate families?"

It was a good question. If only he knew how much I pondered this idea.

"If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't see any reason not to tell them soon because we would only be telling the people closest to us who we know for a fact would never leak it to the media. As for extended family, I don't see a purpose in letting them know before the trip, so you could tell your family the day or so before we meet up and I'll do the same."

"I agree with everything. I mean a guy with someone like you needs to show you off to at least somebody."

"Oh please," I sigh out, rolling my eyes and shoving him lightly as we slow to a walk.

"What?" He looks genuinely confused.

"Oh come on, Edward," I say, unsure if he's joking or not. I conclude from his still-puzzled expression that I need to spell out what I mean.

"Look at you!" I say, throwing my hands up. "You're here talking about me when you have won more awards than pictures I've taken, if you were to ask every girl on the planet to have sex with you they gladly would, your parents are loving and successful, and you and your sister are joined at the hip. _I_ should be the one needing to show you off. You're prefect." I say, not in an intentionally sappy way, but more as if I'm stating the obvious, which I am.

Edward stops slowly and stares at me with an expression I can't read.

"You think everything's perfect?" He asks with an edge.

"I mean, yeah, anybody can figure that out."

Edward scoffs and smiles with no happiness behind it, though.

"You can't honestly mean what you're saying, Bella." He replies sternly.

"Edward, I don't understand what's wrong, you should be happy about your life and that people can see how happy you are." I say, realizing very quickly that I just pissed off Edward big time.

"See that's the thing, Bella," He bursts, making me jump at the escalation of his voice. "My life is far from perfect. Yes, I am very lucky with the life that I have and it could be much worse, but it's not perfect and it just makes me mad when all I hear about is how perfect this and that is when it's totally not, I don't need another reminder of the things that are so out of place in my life." He takes a deep breath after spitting that all out to me and his tense eyes stare at the tips of his sneakers digging in the sand while his hands knot in his hair.

I feel my right hand begin to shake and immediately hide it in the pocket of my running jacket.

 _Do what she told you, Bella, breathe through it. You're safe right now. The past is not here anymore._

I repeat this over and over in my head until I feel the shaking in my right hand slow. Edward's eyes are closed now and I see his breathing slow.

"I'm sorry." Is all I can get out right now, but it comes out as an incoherent choked sob.

"Bella, god," This time Edward isn't saying this in the angry tone like before, but one of remorse.

"Bella, look at me," He says in frustration.

I can't bear to lift my eyes because I feel like if I move an inch of my body, my hand will start shaking and things will go from there and in the end I'll unravel into the mess I become in these situations.

I first see his mop of hair in my line of sight then soon his knees hitting the ground as he kneels at my feet, manually situating himself in my line of sight.

"Bella, the only person I'm frustrated with right now is myself. I-I am not used to this whole commitment thing and in my opinion it's going great with us right now, but the reality is that I don't know what the fuck I'm doing and I'm scared out of my fucking mind for what's to come down the road." His eyes are pleading and he looks at me with genuine fear as he says all of this.

"What are you afraid of, Edward? There's nothing you could possibly know about the future because it's just that, the future, and it's entirely unknown."

"But I do know that my past is very messy and one day I'm going to be strong enough to tell you everything but in reality, Bella, I'm fucking weak right now and I can't tell you what I want to because I'm so disgusted with myself that I can't even talk about who I am. All that I'm trying to say is that this is your opportunity to run." He gets up from his knees and stands right over me, tears now poking at his eyes.

"Bella, I swear to god if you leave right now there will be no judgment from me and we will forget about everything that's happened. If you run now, then you won't have to when I tell you everything about who I am one day. You can even leave this job if you want, also. It will be unbearable for me if you do, but my time of putting myself first is used up. I've put myself before everybody else way too many times in my life and this is my chance to put your own interest before mine. So please, if you want to make the right decision, then walk right back up to the house, close the door, and from there on out everything will be forgotten. I'm not good enough for you, Bella."

By now the tears are making Edward's cheeks shine and he hasn't looked at me since he started speaking. The sky has darkened infinitely since we began this fail of a beach jog and I hear a rumble of thunder as a raindrop smacks my nose.

Edward's face is broken, making me just want to hold him like a child and try and put him back together again.

Instead, I do exactly what he deserves.

In one swift movement, my palm flies at record speed and slaps him right in his cheek.

His head whips up and he clasps his cheek with the red palm imprint.

"What the hell?!" He exclaims, trying to put together what just happened.

"Are you fucking serious, Edward?" By now, any ounce of sympathy I had before is replaced by deep rage.

"You fucking think that I'm going to walk right out of here like I had nothing invested in this at all? Is it _really_ that easy for you to say goodbye because it certainly is a punch in the gut to hear you offer an exit from this relationship so very easily." I practically feel the steam bursting from my ears and I don't realize I'm crying until I feel the warm tear run down my cheek.

"Bella, do you not understand?" Edward shouts a bit louder, "I probably couldn't live if you walked away, but I knew that I will never be good enough for you and that I don't deserve you. If anything, this only proved how I feel about you because I have _never_ offered something that would personally crush me but ensure a better life for someone else. It was all for you, Bella."

"But don't _you_ understand, Edward? I know that you have never really done the commitment, relationship thing before, but you should know that I am only here to fight with you, not against you. Edward, I'm so fucked up that my body physically threatens to shut down at the sound of a car alarm because of the stuff from my past. _I_ am so far from perfect too. And dear God, I know that from the outside I seem like a bohemian, globetrotting Australian photographer with a million friends who spends her time surfing and dating actors and musicians, but I am so far from that.

Every aspect of myself and the person who I was before all of this is so much more of me than you will know. And I'm sorry, because I should have known better than to say that your life was perfect because I was doing the exact thing that I hate when people do it to me. I am sorry because I know how frustrating it is to hear from other people how great your life is, but to know inside that what they see is only the exterior and if they only knew what really was going on, then they would never be praising your life like that. And finally, I'm sorry that you ever doubted my loyalty to you and that you ever had to believe that I would actually run from you because of your past. Because if you ask me, the past is the past and the present is the present; there's no reason to overlap the two to affect the future." By now I'm heaving, my lungs inflating and deflating rapidly as I gaze back at Edward, the two of us just standing apart from each other, trying out figure out where to go from here. With a slight movement at first, Edward extends his hand towards me and I take hold of it gently.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lashed out like that." He says softly with pain in his voice.

"Don't be. I would have too. Just remember that from my standpoint, if you have so many people that still love you despite everything from your past, then what makes me incapable of doing that? I already know you're catastrophising in your own head. Just relax and remember that I am not known as an unforgiving, stubborn person."

"I know. Can we just start this whole run over?" He asks

"Please. But lets not forget it happened because like it or not, what we spoke about was important in order for us to move forward."

"I promise, I won't."

We restart our jog and the rain begins to come down harder upon Edward and I's hoods. We keep a steady pace and run down the beach for about a mile and a half until we reach the end. The end of the beach is incredibly secluded and is very rocky, with huge cliffs and boulders surrounding us, the waves crashing against them.

"Killed it." Edward exclaims and we high five, catching our breath when we come to a full stop. I flop down on the sand and close my eyes, letting the raindrops tap against my face almost therapeutically. I peek open an eye, praying a raindrop doesn't smack my now-exposed eyeball, and see Edward laying next to me doing the same. He has a peaceful smile as the rain hits all of his body, making a light tapping sound against his rain jacket. I could tell that like me, he felt a hundred times lighter after getting everything out there. It really is true that a good cry is the best medicine.

"Come on." Edward pops up and quickly extends his hand, waiting for me to grab it.

"What are you doing?" I shield my eyes from the rain and look up at him and his extended arm in confusion.

"Just trust me." He states, practically bouncing on his feet.

I tentatively grab his warm hand and he pulls me right up against him and has a devilish smirk on his face.

A look of worry crosses me and in a swift movement he's unzipped and removed my rain jacket so I'm just in my sports bra.

"Edward, trust me, I know sex on the beach sounds great, but in reality it's just itchy sand in all the places you don't want it to be." I complain. I never thought I would turn down sex with Edward, but in this case I am putting my foot down after high school when I had a full, weeklong twitching fit because of all the sand that was stuck in my vagina.

"I know, that's why we're not having sex." Edward states obviously, still with a devilish smirk on his face. He tosses his cap off to the side and pulls his tight tshirt off to reveal abs soaked from the rain.

 _Jesus fuck._

"May I ask why we're getting undressed then?" I question while hesitantly pulling off my sneakers.

"We're about to do my most favorite activity as a kid and experience the best feeling in the world, besides a damn good orgasm, of course."

"What the-?" Now Edward is only in his Calvin Klein briefs, waiting for me impatiently.

"Come on now, leggings off, I don't have all day." He jokes, tapping his bare foot against the sand just like the raindrops.

With an eye roll, I strip off my leggings so I'm only standing in a sports bra and lacey underwear, freezing from the cold rain.

"Good. Now it's time to experience immense pleasure."

In a split second, Edward has me over his shoulder, my ass in the air and is running full sprint towards god-knows-where.

"Edward Motherfucking Cullen if you don-" My breath is cut off when I feel him release me and I'm flying in the air for a second before crashing into what I now realize is water. I swim up to the surface and whip my head around until I see him practically pissing himself with laughter at the shoreline.

"What the fuck, Cullen?" I yell, throwing my hands up and pouting like a five year old.

Instead of responding, he dives into an incoming wave and swims up to me, popping right up in front of me, whipping his hair out of his face.

He's still laughing and I'm laughing too at his childish prank that he believes to be the funniest shit on the planet.

"What the hell was that for?" I question, still confused at his motive for all of this.

"Swimming during a rainstorm was my favorite thing in the world when I was little. If I were near the ocean or a pool while it was pouring rain, I would dive right in because the coldness of the rain would make the water feel exceptionally warm. It's the best feeling in the world"

"That is true, it's incredibly nice" I lay and float on my back for what feels like hours, the top of my body getting covered with cold rain while the rest is warm below the surface. It was the perfect balance. I head under again and open my eyes to Edward snapping pictures of me when I reemerge. I pause and laugh before chasing after him, crawling all over to try and reach his phone that he's holding way above my head.

"You take so many pictures of other people that there are too few of you, gorgeous." I ignore his (incredibly sweet) comment and continue to struggle against him.

"You ass." I mumble, jumping to try and reach the phone, which I just realized has a waterproof case on it, like the short kid trying to reach his lunch money that the tall bully is holding over his head.

"Fine. I won't take any more, but I'm saving the ones I did take because you look beautiful."

I smirk at my successful convincing but see that Edward's staring off a something over my head.

"What?" I turn around and see nothing, just a cliff with waves crashing against it in the distance.

It takes a second for him to snap out of his daydream and respond. "Oh, um, I just thought I saw someone. It was just a bird though."

"Good. Because it's just us out here." I swim toward him slowly and move to wrap my legs around him, feeling his cock react instantly. I wrap my arms around my neck when he cups my ass and lifts me up, kissing me passionately. We make out for what feels like an eternity before we break for air.

"I feel like I'm in some fanfiction that would be written about me. You know, kissing a girl in the rain and all that cheesy shit."

"We are a bit ridiculous right now, aren't we?" I question, agreeing with him.

"Yes, but I don't have any issue with it."

"Me neither." I kiss him back and break away before it turns into a heated make out like before.

"What is it?" He asks, wiping a raindrop stuck on my eyelash.

"Why did you do it then?" I spit out, asking the question that's been in the back of my mind, screaming to get out, since what happened before.

"Do what?"

"I know we weren't going to bring up what happened back there for the rest of the day, but I haven't stopped thinking about what you said. Why did you say that this was my last chance to run like any time in the future would be impossible? You now know that I have no intention of leaving at any time in the future, but why did you make it sound like it was my last chance to?" I examine, completely lost because of his words from before.

I sit there in his arms, waiting for him respond, as he just looks at me with fear but also another expression that I can't exactly comprehend.

His hand leaves my ass and runs up my body until it's cupping my face. His lack of response is driving me crazy and I'm now regretting asking it at all.

"Edward?" I utter nervously.

"It's because I want you to know that I love you, Bella."

Every atom of oxygen in my body escapes and if I were on solid ground my legs would feel like spaghetti. Here was the man, who just a few months ago was named Hollywood's biggest playboy, standing here saying he loves me; the man who could never love, who could never commit. I've heard about this Edward from the people who knew him before I did, but I could never envision him. I could never truly understand what his friends meant when they said that I've helped him a lot and he's changed since I started working for him.

But now I understand.

Because the way this man is looking at me says it all.

He loved me.

And fuck did I love him. My words are useless right now since I couldn't formulate a sentence if I tried, so I pull him to me in the warmest kiss I've ever given. Before I even utter the three words, I tell him how much I love him with my single touch, lovingly caressing and nipping at his lip, my hands covering all of his body, showing him exactly how I felt.

Many believe that confessing their love for someone is the most nerve-racking and hardest thing anybody could do. But for me it was like breathing. I'm not a believer of the whole "ignorance is bliss" idea; ignoring the truth doesn't make it go away. Since the whole fiasco with the panic attack a few months ago I knew and I didn't even try to deny it.

I knew I loved him when he actually noticed I didn't text back.

I knew I loved him when he called my sister in a panic.

I knew I loved him when he came to me in bed with a teddy bear and a movie to distract me from my thoughts.

I knew I loved him when he held me in his arms for the first time and made me feel like everything really was going to be ok.

Every morsel of my being pulverizes into beams of light with my lips on his, and everything seems right in the world and I feel as safe as I once did in my mother's arms for the first time. The unwavering sense of familiarity overcomes me as I rake my hands through his hair and pull him closer, almost as if I have his mind closer to mine this dream will last longer. Electricity courses through my veins when his hands meet the side of my face creating a protective fence. Within that instant, Edward showed me the one thing that was missing in my life.

I spent years searching, yearning, for the missing facet of my being. I searched for it in men, school, work, drugs, surfing, photography, art, love... Anything that gave me a sense of living I threw myself into. Once the gate was cracked, I threw it open.

I didn't even realize that I've pulled my lips away from him until his concerned, worried look pulls me out of my head.

I trace my finger over every crevice in his face, his jaw, his eyes. he slowly closes them as his eyelashes turn into angel wings on his cheekbones.

There was no questioning it.

It was found.

It was so simple, just one word.

Yet it took me years of searching and desperate measures to find it.

How could I have been so blind?

How could I have gone all these years without it?

It wasn't art, sex, drugs, work; it wasn't even Edward himself.

It was shelter.

After years of facing the blistering cold, draining heat, singing wind, and drenching rain, I finally reached my shelter.

I found what I was looking for.

This is why I never let myself stop. This is why the universe didn't let me quit when the wind peeled layers of skin off of me and the sun scorched my skin.

It was because the universe knew that there was going to be a shelter at one point during this long hike that once seemed impossible and suddenly everything would be ok.

It was so hard to see at times, but my skin would restore its layers.

The burn of the sun would go away.

My body would heal so I could continue on to find my shelter.

And I finally found it.

Edward was my shelter. And as I'm standing with Edwards arms wrapped around me in my protected bubble, the overwhelming feeling of comfort, familiarity, adoration, and everything good in this world makes the whole hike worth it. The shelter was my destination, it just took me a long time to notice it.

I made it. Hard times now seem possible and for the first time ever, I have faith that I can do and face anything because I had my shelter. I was protected, and when I look up into the heavenly orbs of green and blue, I see it.

The three lines that escape the sides of his eyes like shooting stars say it. his lips still slightly swollen say it. The way his eyebrows are still knitted in concern for me because I stopped the kiss say it. The veins escaping from his arms pulsing blood to his gentle heart say it.

My shelter loved me.

And God did I love it.

In a breathy whisper, I say the words that have been struggling to get out for so long, and Edward's entire face lights up into an expression that will forever be stored in my mind.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Someone please pass the tissues.

And yes, I am very much aware that saying I love yous in the pour rain is cliche as hell but that's the joke!

I hope this lived up to your expectations :)

Leave me a review and let me know if it did!

xoxo


	23. Harvest Moon

**A/N:**

 **Hello again!**

 **Sorry about the delay... I'm in the islands and planned on getting this up two days ago but my friends visited for a few days so I've been busy. Anyways, here is the gallery opening with a surprise at the end!**

 **Shoutout to Jackie and her odd obsession with Dr. Phil for inspiring this chapter :)**

 **All of Bella's photos are in my profile along with a bunch of other visuals!**

 **There's an important message at the bottom, too!**

 **Please leave a review for me, I get so happy when I see the review number go up and I read every single one. They make me smile :)**

 **xoxo**

* * *

"No, not there! Have vision, people. Bring the Burma picture to the far right wall. No, that's your left. The _right_ wall." I hear Bella shout over the sounds of her scrambling crew. "Hello?" She finally gasps, the anxiety in her voice sounding like her hair's about to fall out.

"This sounds like a bad time, call me back when you can." I respond, partly because I really don't want to bother her but mostly because I'm slightly afraid of her in this state right now.

"No, no, stay on the line. One sec."

I her shout more demands before the background quiets down significantly. She take a breath and she says hello again, this time much calmer.

"You sound like you're a military officer running an army over there."

"Not too far from it. I'm sorry I was short when I picked up at first, it's just I swear that my crew has absolutely no vision and doesn't know what they're doing half the time. Also, half of my photos were supposed to be delivered here an hour ago and they're nowhere to be found. I just don't know how the fuck I can pull this together by tonight." Just by her voice, I can see her sitting outside knotting her grabbing at her hair in stress; it was one of the nervous habits she picked up from me.

"Just take a second and relax; tonight will be amazing. Remember that the crew is under just as much stress as you are so try and not be too harsh. They're only there to help."

"I know, I hate acting bitchy but this can just be so frustrating."

"And I'm sure they understand that… I missed you last night." It was now 10 am and I was rifling through my closet looking for a suit for Bella's big gallery opening tonight. Bella had left to go set up the gallery after dinner last night and hasn't slept since. Little did she know, I didn't get an ounce of sleep of last night due to the anticipation of tonight's events. I am practically tearing apart my closet, looking through suits aggressively trying to find the perfect one. The last time I was this anxious was before my first award show.

"Well, gotta say, spending the night in your arms is hard to beat hanging photographs and drinking shitty coffee for what has now been fifteen hours."

I chuckle at her sarcasm and let her get back to work because she said that the delivery truck pulled up and the missing photos were finally there. Before I hang up, I make sure that the last thing I say is I love you. Since Bella and I have admitted the depth of our feelings for each other, it's felt like the world has been lifted off of both of our shoulders. Admittedly, we've also turned into that obnoxious couple that says they love each other every damn minute. Although it's felt so much better for the both of us since we admitted our feelings, it's been frustrating to hide and bury our feelings around other people and it has affected our general happiness as a couple. The fight we had a week and a half ago on the beach was one of the scariest but most liberating experiences I've ever had. Believe me, I was scared shitless because I truly believed that she would run, but she didn't. She stayed and she reassured me of every worry I've had since I realized that my feelings for her were here to stay. And when she told me that she loved me back, I swear to god I was the happiest man on the planet. Since then, we've wrapped Scarlet, spent our days off in bed, and have helping organizing for the gallery.

Now, tonight was the night… And I was scared shitless.

BPOV

"Hey Bella, we're leaving this space open for the mystery photo, correct?" Angela, one of my assistants, questions as she points at the empty wall space.

"Yes. Can you hang up the sign with the instructions for the raffle?" A few days ago, Edward and I were brainstorming about the opening and he had the idea of doing a charity raffle. He recommended that I get Angus or Rose, who both know all my photos in and out, to choose the one they thought should be put up and there would be a raffle for it. The photo wouldn't be revealed until after the winner was chosen, so the people who attend tonight will see the blank wall with the description of the raffle and the prices. One entry was $100 and Edward also had the idea of the money to go towards supplies for the refugee camp I met Taban at.

Things like this make me question how somebody with such a warm heart could call themselves a monster.

We didn't want any media speculation, so a few days ago Riley announced to the presses that Edward was on the guest list and he told the media it was because I was a friend of Alice's and that he had known of my work. This of course caused chaos among all his fans and a large group camped out outside the gallery last night and there have been more fans lining up by the hour. Sometimes I really don't understand why some people would spend the night on the concrete of Hollywood Boulevard behind barricades just to get a good spot by the carpet to see Edward walk it tonight. So far, there were about two thousand expected to attend, including Edward and I's friends and some of my past celebrity clients who are good friends and in the area. Between Edward, Lorde, Cara Delevinge, Chris Martin, The Hemsworth brothers, and Blake Lively coming, this was easily going to be my most buzzed-about opening yet.

All I can do is pray that it comes together.

EPOV

"Why is it always me who has to yell up the stairs for you to hurry your ass up and I'm the girl?" I hear Alice's high-pitched yell from my closet as I'm putting in my last cufflink.

"Just a minute, you pixie." I shout back. With one last glance in the mirror and a thank you to my hair stylist that's packing up in my bathroom, I'm practically running down the stairs. The gallery opened at 6 and we chose to play it cool and have Alice, Jasper, and I arrive at 7:00 so it didn't look weird with us being the first ones there. Alice is swiping on her lip gloss when I come down in sky high heels and one her own dresses. It was incredibly artistic, with a wavy hemline and draped pieces of fringe in different shades of blue. It really showed off how talented she was.

"This is one of your new pieces, right?" I ask, grabbing her hand and twirling her tiny self so I get a 360-degree view and the fringe spins around.

"Yes it is, indeed. Whattda think?"

"I think that it shows how you're _almost_ as talented as me." I joke.

"Ass." She quips, smacking me with her clutch. "Gotta say I had my hesitations about letting you pick out your own suit, but you made me proud, big bro. Plus, we coordinate."

"Not bad, huh?" I say, glancing down at my blue suit that really does go with Alice's dress.

"Not bad at all."

"Alright, cool you guys. Thanks, babe. I love your outfit, too." Japser scoffs from the side, wearing a charcoal grey suit.

"Aww, you know I don't even have to tell you that I love everything you wear." She whines, and plants a kiss on his lips. "Because you know that I'm the one that dresses you." She deadpans, setting me in a fit of laughter at the fact that my 28 year old best friend can't even dress himself.

"Hardy-har-har, Cullen." Lets just go now, ok?

We jump in the limo and get a text from James, Mike, Riley, and Jessica, letting us know that they're there and that they've met up with Bella's crew. They also said they couldn't even move at first because the place was so packed, which made me happy knowing there was a good turnout for Bella. What didn't make me so happy was the fact they warned me that there were fans waiting outside down the block. I loved meeting fans, but not in a situation like this where I just want to get inside and see the girl I love. Part of myself is dreading tonight, though, because I am scared out of my mind. I have no idea how this was going to go and I haven't been sleeping the past three nights because my mind has been running on about the different possible outcomes of what's going to happen. Before I know it, though, Alice is snapping me out of my stressed haze and letting me now they're a block away. When I hear that, it feels like a brick hit my stomach and I'm suddenly regretting all my plans. _Fuck._

"Edward, are you okay? You look like you're going to be sick." Alice asks with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." _Just a borderline panic attack, no biggie._

"Ok, good." From a block away, I can already hear the girls screaming against the barricades. Sometimes shit like this makes me feel guilty because I feel like I'm stealing Bella's thunder, but she's reassured me that she doesn't feel that way at all so I'm just going to hope she was telling the truth. As we pull up, paparazzi surround our car and there are shouts of "It's Cullen!" which only turns the screaming girls' volume up to an unbearable level.

"Godspeed, brother." Jasper says, putting his hand on my shoulder and Alice flashes the Star Trek "live long and prosper" signal before the door opens and they step out into the blinding flashes. Alice and Jasper begin signing and a few seconds later I take a breath and step out of the car, my bodyguard pulling me through the crowd of paparazzi. The screaming escalades exponentially and I see Jasper throw his hands up in surrender.

"Come on!" He yells, pissed. "You're more excited about this asshole than this hunky piece of meat?" He yells to the girls jokingly, referring to the amount of screams I got.

I blow him a kiss and he rolls his eyes dramatically before I start at beginning of the barricades and begin signing and taking pictures. About twenty minutes in, I am about an eighth of the way through and I'm working quickly. I know that it's time to go in, but there are so many other fans so I solemnly tell them that I have to go and reach to touch their outstretched hands as I walk by with my head down; I can't bare to see their disappointment.

I make it to the carpet and there's a good amount of photographers there firing pictures. Since my relationship with Bella is so intimate, it's so easy to forget that she's an incredibly famous photographer and that she has fans and everything. I pose for a few pictures before Alice and Jasper join me to take group photos. Riley is waiting at the end of the carpet with a Jack Daniels in hand for me.

"Jesus, how big is that crowd?" I ask him, finally relaxing a tiny bit.

"A couple hundred waiting outside. I would guess two thousand inside, just wait till you see. You'll be very proud." Riley's comment brings a smile on my face just thinking about how happy I am for her.

I nod at the guard and he nods back, opening up double glass doors to a gorgeous gallery space. Right in front of me is the raffle that I helped set up, and the room opens up into an open floor with all of Bella's photos scattered across the walls.

The photos are large and blown up on plexiglas so the colors of the photos are exceptionally strong under the light. The side doors of the space are open and lead out to a patio that has a bonfire and a table containing forms for buying a piece and all of Bella's information.

I can barely maneuver my way to see a picture because there are so many people here. Riley leads me over to the bonfire where our whole entire group has taken over the seats and cushions surrounding it. It was a perfect space because we were aloof from the group so we wouldn't be recognized as much, but still a part of the party. All of Bella's friends are there including some of her photo staff that I recognize, like Jake and Angela, along with my friends. I feel someone grab onto my coat and it's Alice who's pulling Jasper along trying to get through this crowd. We already knew we had no chance of seeing the actual show until the opening was over and the place wasn't infested with people.

"Hey, Cullen!" Dylan makes eye contact with me through the crowd and Riley and I finally make it outside to the bonfire. Alice, Jasper, and I say our hellos with the usual bro hugs and kisses on the cheeks. I plop down next to Emmett on an open cushion and finally take a breath.

"I've been to blockbuster premieres that aren't even close to being this crowded." I remark at the immense crowd.

"It's crazy, right? I'm so proud of Bells for pulling this all together." Rose adds

"Speaking of, where is the leading lady?" Jasper asks taking the same question I've had since I walked in.

"She's in the crowd over there talking to some guests." I follow Emmett's finger and even in the huge crowd I can pick her brown hair out immediately. Her back's to me, but her hair is in its loose waves cascading down her back. All I can see is the top of her head and I already know she looks breathtaking; she could wear rags and she still would be. The conversation between everyone resumes, but I can't take my eyes off her. I know people will probably being to notice that I've been sitting with a glass of whiskey watching the back of a girl's head for five minutes like the creepy thin man in Charlie's Angels, but I don't give a shit. I haven't seen the girl who has my heart since yesterday, and the fact that she's so close to me, but I can't bust through the crowd and interrupt her conversation just to touch her pisses me off, quite frankly. Just looking at her only spikes my nerves exponentially about tonight, which is something I definitely didn't need.

I practically jump in my seat from excitement when I see her hug the people she was speaking to goodbye and begin to turn away. She weaves herself away and steps out of the large crowd, looking around for us. _Jesus Christ I'm sweating like a pig._ _I'm going to need another Jack if I'm going to make it till after the show._

My breath hitches when she fully steps out in a white lace bra top and a long, draping canary-yellow maxi dress. Her skin was glowing and you could never tell that she hasn't slept in over a day.

"Over here, fairy gypsy princess!" Alana shouts when she catches sight of Bella. Bella smiles when she sees all of us and practically runs across to join us. I feel an elbow in the side of my stomach from Riley, who's looking away as if he didn't want people to see us talking.

"You're staring and people are starting to notice." He mumbles, taking a sip of his drink casually. I painfully tear my eyes from the girl in yellow and lace and stare at the shiny cubes of ice bobbing in the brown liquid. I just wanted to scream my love for this girl from the top of the hills. Was that too much to ask?

"Hey, thanks so much for coming." I was so zoned out I didn't even realize that Bella had made her way around to me. I get up and hug her back in a friendly way, but all I want to do it just embrace her entirely. Bella discreetly presses her mouth to my ear and whispers so softly I can barely hear her. "This place is infested with reporters. We have to be careful." I move my head to barely nod, just enough so she would know I understood.

"Of course, we wouldn't miss it." I say louder, resuming to our normal, public conversation. Our eyes connect and I see the same disappointment that I feel right now. I look back at her and try to reassure her without the words. I can only hope the message gets communicated. _Not too much longer now, love. It will all be ok soon._ I sit back down and try and act as impassionedly as possible, merely scanning the crowd and pretending to listen to a conversation. The truth is that since this morning, I haven't been able to focus on anything; the anticipation and nerves were eating me alive.

"Dude, you look like you're about to get your balls chopped off, what gives?" Jasper asks with a look of concern.

"Nothing at all, just haven't been feeling great since this morning." I say nonchalantly, hoping he'll drop the subject.

I shift my eyes away to Bella once again. Emmett says something funny and she explodes into laughter that makes her nose crinkle in the most adorable way.

 _Goddamnit this was harder than I thought it would be. It was hard enough in the beginning, but now that my feelings have grown even more, this seems impossible._

With a groan, I finish off my drink and shake my glass at a nearby server.

This was going to be a long night.

 **BPOV**

I release my arms from around Liam and Cara once the photographer gets the picture and grab another glass of wine. I think Cara's talking about idea for our upcoming shoot, but I wouldn't know because I haven't been able to focus since I saw Edward. He was still outside with everyone, and I hadn't seen him since I went to say hello an hour ago. When I saw him he didn't look himself; he looked like he hadn't slept a minute and had so much stress covering his face. He seemed perfectly himself on the phone this morning, but my inner insecurities are making me wonder if he's now having doubts about us. Unable to take it any longer, I excuse myself to the restroom and open my texts.

 **You're worrying me sick. Please tell me what's the matter.**

By the time I enter the stall, I feel my phone buzz and I sit down on the seat cover, tentatively opening my phone.

 _What do you mean_?

 **I know you. You look like you haven't slept and like you're about to find out if you'll get the death penalty or not. What's worrying you so much?**

 _I just haven't felt great and you caught me when I really wasn't feeling great. I've got some food, though, and I'm feeling much better. Promise. I'll see you after the show. I love you._

A part of me didn't believe it, but I decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and leave it for now.

 **Okay. I love you, too. Tell the crew people are starting to leave so we'll all be able to hang out soon. X**

I tuck my phone back, put on my best smile, and return to chaos.

I say goodbye and thank you to the final straggling group of pretentious LA artists, shut the door behind them, lock it, and take the biggest breath I've taken this whole day. I close my eyes and lay my head in my hands.

That may have been the most stressful five hours of my life. It was now 11:00 and the gallery was empty, but the stress was worth it because I sold pretty much all of the photos I had hanging. I make my way across the room and step outside to see Edward and I's friends still around the fire chatting.

"There she is!" Dylan shouts, beginning to applaud.

Everyone begins to cheer and I laugh, feeling so happy to have this all over and done with. Emmett and Rose come up first to hug me congratulations, and everyone else follows saying kind words.

"I would say I loved your pieces, but there hasn't been any space to see any of them. Guess we're not famous enough." Japser jokes.

"Seriously, thank you all for waiting and being here. Now that everyone's gone, though, it's just us and the leftover booze." I add. We get up and start to walk inside as Alice pops up next to me.

"Edward and Riley left already, correct?" I ask Alice.

"Yup! Just an hour ago or so when people started leaving. I don't think it's possible for the media to make anything out of tonight so it's all good. Could you imagine if you and Edward were actually dating? That would be crazy."

"Yeah, totally crazy." I respond as nonchalant as possible.

Before tonight, Edward and I agreed that he should leave at a normal time and not stay after so the reporters couldn't generate a rumor about us. That way, it would look like he just came and saw the pictures, said hi, and left. Then, after the show and the paparazzi leave and the fans go home, he'll come back and hang out with us. As far as our friends knew, we were doing this to avoid getting me in the rumor mill and to avoid me being falsely accused of dating him. Little did they know that it wouldn't be a false accusation.

Emmett and I get working on pouring the leftover bottles of wine as everyone takes the time to walk around and look at my photos. There were ones from Australia, Thailand, Italy, Pakistan, Turkey, etc. There also was a section where there were just my celebrity photos from different shoots and from different tours I've been on. My favorite one, though, is hanging on the right hand wall and it's the first picture I took of Edward on my trial day in his living room.

I hear the bell ring at the entrance, which I assume is from Edward, and Alice scurries to grab it before I can even head to let him in.

I hear Alice's heels run to the door and recognize Edward's voice greeting her. "Bells?" Alice yells from the entryway around the corner, out of my line of sight.

"Yeah?" I reply as I curse and wrestle with this fucking cork for not doing its job and just popping out.

"Someone people are here to say hi." I stop tugging on the cork instantly and whip my head around with a completely puzzled look.

I recognize the long honey hair within a second and see Esme round the corner looking as gorgeous as ever, pulling Carlisle along with her. My face lights up in surprise and they pull me into a hug, handing me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.

"We were asking Edward about this gallery opening and he mentioned that your whole family's back in Australia so we figured we would be your stand in parents tonight." Esme states, kindly caressing my arm.

I'm rendered speechless by their kindness and generosity.

"You guys didn't have to take this time out of your schedules; you're so busy!" I say, still shocked that they came tonight.

"Please, Bella," Carlise replies, "you're a part of the Cullen team now. Plus, Edward was very encouraging and agreed with that we should come."

My eyes flick up to him and I see he's now entered the room, watching my interaction with his parents with adoration in his eyes. I tense, though, when I see that he actually looks _worse_ than he did before. There was a line of sweat at his hairline and I could tell his hands were fidgeting nervously in his pockets.

Was he worried about bringing his parents? He knows that I love them, so why is he acting so nervous?

"Thank you for doing this," I outstretch my arms and move to hug Edward, making sure it doesn't look too intimate but just friendly. "You still look like you're about to shit yourself." I mumble quiet enough for him to hear.

"Don't worry." He mumbles back.

"Well I am." I say back, quite pissed that he lied to me about being sick earlier.

By this time, Esme and Carlisle are looking around with the rest of the group. I try and ignore Edward and move to join everyone to begin to tell the backgrounds behind certain photos, but my eyes are constantly flicking up to Edward, He's standing back pretending to listen, but I know that he's just listening to his worried thoughts. I tried my best to ignore it all night, but it is virtually impossible now that he's lied to me about it. I move to talk to Jake and Leila to appear like I'm enjoying this, but in reality I'm infuriated that he's letting me worry myself sick over here. I discreetly open my phone and quickly move to his contact.

 **In case you were wondering, I'm fucking pissed that you're letting me worry like this and not telling me a damn thing.** I hit send, and see Edward jump at the buzzing of his phone.

 _Jeez, he was on edge._

His brow furrows when he reads my text and he types back a response quickly.

 _I know you are. All I can ask is that you trust that it will all be okay very soon and it's nothing for you to worry about._

I scoff loudly at his text back and my anger escalades even more. How the fuck can he tell me to not worry in a situation like this? I stuff my phone back in my bag and clench my teeth.

Leila's in the middle of talking about the concert she went to the other night when I see Jake's eyes graze over her shoulder. He nods slightly, but enough for me to notice. Jake suspiciously excuses himself outside and I follow his line of sight to no other then Edward fucking Cullen.

 _Why the fuck are Edward and Jake sending secret signals to each other like 007?_

Edward is typing rapidly on his phone before he shuts it off and lifts his eyes right to me. I see his chest inflate and deflate as he takes a deep breath.

"Bella, what's this empty space for?" He asks, loud enough so the whole group hears.

 _What the fuck is he doing? He knows very well what this space is for, it was his idea!_

I tell myself to act casual and that he's just doing this to appear ignorant and like he's just here to attend since everyone thinks he is.

"We're doing a raffle for a secret photo that Angus is choosing. The tickets sold out tonight pretty early on and the money's going to a refugee camp that I spent time at in Pakistan." I answer, speaking as I would to anybody who's merely a friend asking an innocent question.

Instead of responding, Edward places his drink down at the bar and moves to stand by the raffle picture.

Even from over here, I can see his hand shaking so much that the liquid is splashing around in his glass. What the hell is going on with him?

"Alright, everybody come over here." He shouts over to all of us as he tugs at his hair like he's about to confess to murder.

With the way he's been acting tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

We all shoot looks at each other, completely confused, and move to where Edward is.

As I'm walking over, I see Jake enter back inside with his phone in his hand. My head whips back around to Edward who's still looking like a nervous wreck.

"I just wanted to make a toast." He grabs his drink and holds it by his side, his gaze pointed at the ground before his eyes lift up at me.

"These past couple months have been extremely pivotal for me. I began my third film of the year, my sister got engaged to my best friend, and we got a new member of the team: Bella." A little smile tugs at his lips when he says this.

As somebody in the spotlight, I have been trained to always have my guard up. So when I was told that a random photographer was coming over to my own house to photograph me in my living room on my day off, taken-back would be putting my reaction lightly." I chuckle at this, now knowing his personality and how freaked out he must've been on our trial day.

"I found out this photographer was a girl, so I decided to make the best of it. In my admittedly playboyish ways, I opened the door with a smoldering look and tight tshirt." This gets a laugh out of everyone, knowing how this is perfectly typical of the Edward who's single and looking for a girl. "When I opened the door, though, Bella didn't even stare and just quickly greeted me, rambled on in her heavy accent that sounded like a foreign language at the time, and focused on setting up her camera instead of me, which was quite a blow to the ego. That was the first time I realized Bella was different." He pauses.

"The other poignant time I realized that I didn't have a normal Hollywood girl working for me was one day after we were shooting Scarlet. Bella and I were grabbing food and she told me the story of Taban and the sex slaves that she helped free in Pakistan. That time was also when I found out that she wasn't just a celebrity photographer, but also a photographer who has bore the sight of child soldiers being killed in Western Africa and has photographed the wrongfully-imprisoned children of Nepal, for example. That was when I knew she was really different. When I first heard the story of the Pakistani refugee camp, I was completely taken back by the story of children separated from their parents and the stories the ones who had to watch their parents get executed before their eyes. Because of that, I bought every raffle ticket for the money to go to that refugee camp tonight." My heart skips a beat and my breathing seizes for what feels like an hour. Everybody roars around me, but I'm frozen, struck at what Edward just did. There were 1,500 tickets. Edward donated $150,000 to the refugee camp in my name. I finally unfreeze when Rosalie shakes me and I practically jump into Edward's arms gasping words of thanks, still completely in shock, but not surprised by his kindness.

"Wait, there's another thing you all need to know." He pulls away and I look at him puzzled, returning to where I was standing before. Now I can see he's really sweating.

"Donating to the refugees is not the only reason why I bought all those tickets. I also needed this space cleared for a really important photograph." My forehead wrinkles in confusion and Rose shoots me a look and I send her one back, showing her I'm just as lost as she is.

"As many of you know, for the raffle Bella got Angus to choose the picture to be raffled off and Bella doesn't know what that picture is." Jake steps in from behind me carrying a large, vertical piece with a sheet over it.

"The thing is, though," Edward pauses and takes a swig of his drink. "I orchestrated the whole raffle idea, not Bella, so that with the help of Angus and Jake, I could show all my loved ones standing right here something that is incredibly close to my heart." _Was Edward fucking high? What was he doing?_

I watch, just plain confused, as Edward looks at me with a smile before he and Jake remove the sheet from the piece now hanging on the wall.

When my eyes hit the photo that's there, my hands fly to my mouth.

 _Oh._

 _My._

 _God._

Tears flood my eyes within a second and I revisit the moment captured in the photograph.

It was a picture of Edward and I in the ocean in the pouring rain, right after we said we loved each other. We were both smiling so widely, embracing each other as the rain pounds around us. Anybody would have to be blind to not see the love between us in this picture.

Nobody's said anything, and they're just staring at the photograph in shock. "Bella," he turns right to look at me. "I know you're probably freaking out right now, but I couldn't keep this hidden any longer, and I knew you were becoming as frustrated as I was in hiding this, and I hated to see that." He turns back to our shocked friends and family, who are slowly realizing what's happening.

"This was taken by Jake, unknown to Bella, who I had hiding behind a rock on the beach so he could take this photo. This was taken right after I told Bella that she had my heart, and she made me the happiest, luckiest man on earth by telling me that she loved me too." _What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening._

He takes a deep breath after letting this all out and everybody's still silent. Edward shoots a worried look at me, who's way too stunned to react, because it's been ten seconds since he's revealed this photo and nobody's said a word. The silence is broken right then when Emmett is the first to wake up and his eyes widen to the size of the full moon above us.

"You two are together?!" Emmett shouts. _Oh boy. I don't know if that was a good shout._

Edward freezes and suddenly begins to stutter. "Uh-um-yeah." He dips his eyes to ground, ready to be unloaded upon by everyone, who I assume is furious from all this tense silence. _Why the fuck were they so pissed? It was our life._

"Oh my god, fucking finally!" Carlisle shouts even louder than Emmett, stunning all of us considering yelling and swearing is completely out of character for him. He throws his hands up so fast in relief at the news that he doesn't even realize that he's dumped his drink on the floor.

"THIS IS THE BEST NEWS OF MY LIFE!" Alice screams, and this unleashes everyone into another roar of cheering, this time the loudest of all. Instead of acknowledging any of them, I'm still frozen, staring at Edward waiting for my brain to catch up and realize what's just happened. "Bella, are you okay?" Rosalie nudges me, and all of them pause their celebration to look at me in worry. This nudge wakes me up from my shocked haze, and I finally realize.

 _Edward did this all for me._

 _He's been planning this for ages to tell everyone we cared about, especially me, how much he loved me._

 _He organized for this photo to be taken._

 _He called Jake and my brother._

 _He orchestrated this whole surprise._

 _Just so we wouldn't have to continue hiding around loved ones and to make me happy._

 _And god, happy doesn't even come close to sufficiently describing the emotion within me._

My face erupts into a smile and I let myself do what I've wanted to for so long. I walk right up to Edward, who's still freaking out because he isn't sure if I liked the surprise, and pull into the strongest kiss I've even given in my whole life. He freezes for a moment before I feel his lips spread into the biggest smile and he pulls me to him, leaning me back and cupping my face. At this point, everybody's whooping and screaming once again and Edward and I release, both smiling like idiots.

"I love you." I whisper, our noses touching. All the stress and worry has evaporated from his face and is left with pure bliss, matching the look on my own face.

"Wait, wait, wait." Rosalie shouts, holding her hand up. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the dinner we had at Bella's house a few weeks ago." He answers for me since I'm still far too shocked to formulate a sentence.

"Wait, so Angus knew? Who else did?"

"Just Riley since he had to know because we needed a plan in case pictures got out unknowingly. And my last surprise of the night as that Angus is on Skype with Bella's parents right now, who had no clue either." My eyes shoot to Jake, who has his phone out and is filming everything that's happening right now.

 _Good god, my parents are watching._ I look up at Edward who's waving with the hand that isn't around my waist at the camera that's now showing my parents who are holding the phone unnecessarily close on Skype.

"HOLY SHIT" I shout this probably more loud than necessary, finally regaining my ability to speak. _About time, Bella._

"Thank god, I thought you were so shocked you went mute." Edward remarks.

I whip my head between my parents on facetime, everyone who's beaming at us, and Edward who's smiling down at me. Everything that's happened in the last ten minutes is starting to sink in and the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

"You-the raffle-Jake-Angus-you got him to take that picture-my parents-you acting weird the whole night-wait-oh my god-what."

My sorry excuse for a sentence expresses my shock and I realize I'm still crying when I feel Edward's thumb wipe away my tears.

"I don't think that was English, but yes. This was all for you." By now my mom, Edward's mom, Alice, and Rose, who never cries, are practically weeping. "Bella, please tell me these are happy tears." Edward pleads with worry.

"Yes, Edward, god, yes, they are." Edward pulls me to him, kissing me like my lips were his life supply. I reciprocate, unable to kiss him properly because of the permanent smile on my lips. I break the kiss to run to hug Rose and Emmett, who are saying words of encouragement. Esme is then waiting with open arms and tears in her eyes.

"I knew you were special." She whispers in my ear.  
"Thank you for making my son the happiest he's ever been." Carlisle says, hugging me next.

I embrace everyone else and see Edward laughing with my parents over Skype out of the corner of my eye. I then head over next to him and say hello to my mom who's a sobbing, sappy mess and my father, who's trying to act tough even though I see the tears in his eyes. I excitedly tell them that Edward and their family are coming to Australia for thanksgiving, and they zealously tell me how happy they are.

I know my mom's truly thrilled about them coming to visit because she runs away to grab the number for our favorite restaurant so she can call and make reservations for our families to have dinner together… Even though it's two months ahead.

"We're beyond happy for you and we'll see you all so soon." My dad remarks cheekily.

"I look forward to officially meeting you and thank you for sharing your amazing daughter with me." Edward replies.

"Oh, and Angus, make sure mom and dad don't say a damn word to anyone about Edward and I until we get down there." I jump in, knowing that my mom can have a big mouth.

"You got it, big sis. And Edward, I checked out that band you told me about. Fucking awesome."

"Amazing right?" Edward responds excitedly.

"You guys are already sharing music?" I look up at Edward, confused.

"Oh yeah, Bells. You've got a cool dude here." Angus answers.

"Yeah, yeah."

I'm stunned that my brother actually is talking to Edward, let alone sharing music, considering all the other boyfriends just made him get super overprotective so he would ignore them and shoot them dirty looks.

 _This really is going to take a few hours to really settle in._

"It-it just doesn't feel real." I say to the group, rubbing my temples trying to get my brain to recognize what happened.

"Yeah, I knew this was going to trip you out a bit." Edward says, pulling me into his side. "All that matters is that you didn't freak out and run away." He says, relieved that I didn't hate the surprise.

"Is that why you were sweating like a fucking pig and acting so weird and freaking me out this whole night?" I question to Edward

"Yes, and I felt so terrible because I could tell you were pissed that I wasn't telling you what was going on."

"Well, Cullen, now your odd protectiveness over Bella makes sense." James chimes in.

"And why you were so adamant about is coming tonight." Esme adds.

"And why you are never home." Mike huffs.

"And why you chose Australia for the family vacation." Carlisle says.

"Holy shit, that was the good lay you had a few weeks ago!" Jasper shouts, acting as if he just discovered the national treasure.

"Jasper!" Edward quips, looking at him like he was crazy and motioning to his parents in the room who are holding back a chuckle.

"Oh, sorry, but wow, so many more things make sense." He says, blushing.

Everybody continues to ask questions so we take a seat on the floor of the gallery, passing around a bottle of wine.

Edward and I tell stories like the time when everyone came over unexpectedly and I was on a run so Edward had to rush around like a mad man picking up any sign of me and had to act as if I was running in the area.

By now, it's almost 3 in the morning, and we're buzzed and giggling like idiots over more little anecdotes of our relationship so far, and Carlise and Esme are telling stories of the crazy things they had to do to hide their relationship as teenagers like Edward and I.

I cant remember the last time I felt so comfortable being myself; I had my head leaning on Edward's shoulder and I would bury my face in his neck in laughter at some of the ridiculous stories and jokes being thrown around. Edward's touch hadn't left me since he made the surprise announcement, and the lack of worrying over whether people would catch us makes a world of a difference.

By 3:30 my eyes are beginning to drift closed along with Edward's. We all begin to collect the empty wine bottles and glasses and start to head out. The surge of support that Edward and I are getting from friends and family is astonishing and it makes me beyond happy to know that Edward and I don't have to worry about hiding something like this from those closest to us. I'm smiling like a kid on Christmas as I so goodbye to the people I love the most, knowing that they had a good time, especially because of the fact that Edward's parents voluntarily stayed this late when they have work in the morning.

I shut the door behind me after I wave goodbye again and take another deep breath. It was one of the most emotionally overwhelming nights; I had laughed, stressed the fuck out, cried, literally froze in shock, and revealed to my family, Alana, Camille, Leila, Dylan, Alec, Brody, James, Mike, Jessica, and Edward's family that I was in love with Edward.

"Long night?" I open my eyes to see Edward walking towards me slowly with his crooked grin and jacket over his shoulder.

"You could say that." I say, taking a step so I can wrap my hands around his waist and rest my head on his chest.

"Wait, so Jake was actually there the whole time we were swimming?" I ask, still curious as to how he pulled all this together.

"No, just for a second. I had him wait in the area and when I grabbed my phone to take pictures of you, I also texted him and told him to come now because I had told you I loved you. I saw him over your shoulder after you said it back and gave the good signal to take the picture, so he did and once he took it, he left."

"What was the bad signal then?"

"If you didn't say it back and freaked out, then I would motion him away and we would ditch the plan." He really was an idiot if he didn't see how much I loved him then and that I was just too afraid to say it.

"Well that backup plan was clearly unnecessary. When did you dream up this whole thing?"

"The day we went to the beach with everyone. I got Angus's contact then and reached out to him for help. I had no clue if you were good with surprises or how the best way to go about it would be, so I figured he would be the best to reach out to. He was the one who had an idea of creating a fake raffle to assure we would have an open space for the photo to hang."

The amount of thought and kindness that went into this just proved that Edward was as amazing of a man that I thought he was.

"Tonight was one of the greatest gifts you could ever give me. Thank you." I whisper, looking up at the man I love with all my heart. Edward knew how much this was affecting the both us and how heavily it was weighing on our shoulders. I couldn't be prouder of Edward for taking the wheel and doing it for the both of us, even when admitting and expressing his feelings to people is quite foreign to him.

"Thank you for not freaking out about what I did because, to be honest, I was so worried about you not liking it and running for the hills. When you didn't respond and just stood there, I seriously thought about running out and moving to Timbuktu in embarrassment and shame." I chuckle into his chest, thinking back to his mini panic he had when I was too shocked to move.

"I know; I'm sorry for scaring you. I was just so overwhelmed with love that I couldn't move or formulate a sentence."

"It's okay because your reaction when you finally could realize what you were doing made up for it." He pulls me into a kiss and continues to amaze me with the amount of love that I could have for someone. I still can't wrap my head around how I could feel such familiarity with a person I've only known for a few months.

"Want to go home?" Edward asks, tucking a hair behind my ear.

"Please."

Edward walks me out to the limo and I scoot in as close as possible as we pull way from the gallery and head home.

I think back to only several weeks ago when I fell asleep on his shoulder just like this after I brought him to my special hilltop stop in LA. Back then, I was only denying the inevitable feelings I had for him. I told myself that he could never like me in a romantic way, that I couldn't handle being with someone in the spotlight, and that it was just a silly crush. I was using these excuses to cover up my own truth that I couldn't face.

"Harvest Moon" by Neil Young is playing softly from the stereo and I'm instantly brought back the Byron Bay summers of my childhood where Angus, Rose, and I would sing along to this while washing our bikes.

 _When we were strangers, I watched you from afar_

 _When we were lovers, I loved you with all my heart_

The last thing I remember before I fell asleep in the car and Edward carried me to bed was Edward's soft humming and lips on my forehead the whole way home.

* * *

 **Ok was that not the sweetest thing ever?**

 **I hope everything was clear in this chapter because it was beyond difficult to explain to you all how this surprise got orchestrated without making the structure of the story odd. The difficulty in writing this chapter is also why it took so long to post!**

 **Don't forget to check the visuals! Bella's outfit is goals to be honest.**

 **IMPORTANT! I just realized that you can reply to reviews now so if you leave one I'll definitely try and reply and if you have any confusion over this chapter or are wondering how this/that happened, then ask me! Also if you have any questions about the story/characters at all, I would love to answer them!**

 **xx, S**


	24. Haunting

**A/N: First of all, I'm so sorry for the delay. I am still much sicker than I thought I would be and my brain isn't working as well as it should.**

 **But, I sat down on one of my good health days and got this one out. Something to keep in mind is that I started writing this story because the idea of sitting down and writing a chapter excited me to no end and I truly loved writing everyday; I think (well, I hope) this passion shines through each chapter. Since my diagnosis, I have lost motivation to do anything, really, which is why I am posting less frequently. I would much rather delay a chapter and produce one when I am excited to write and feel I can write a piece I'm proud of then post weekly but be writing chapters I'm not proud of and not feeling any excitement or fullness when writing them like before. Do you all agree? I think I produce much better content when I actually am in the mood to write, which is why posting hasn't been as frequent.**

 **Anyways, this is the beginning of when the story begins to link together and the true heart of it begins to blossom. This is a heavy chapter, so it isn't as long as some of the others.**

 **There aren't any visuals for this chapter… I didn't see a need for them, considering the content.**

 **Until I post again, leave a review and I'll answer!**

 **Talk to you at the end…**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Another Manhattan, please" I shout at a passing waiter, motioning to my now empty glass. For a second, I question if something magically made this drink disappear or if I truly did drink that whole thing so quickly. With an exasperated, impatient sigh I lift my eyes to meet the sight of Edward across the room. He's clearly uninterested as obnoxious producers drunkenly yap in his face probably about some bullshit, low-budget sci-fi project they want him to green-light by joining the cast. Edward's smiling and nodding, but all his face says is get me out of here. _You and me both, babe._

Tonight was the wrap party for _Scarlet_ , and all Edward and I wanted to do was ditch, get takeout, watch a movie, and fuck. Despite our protests and pitches to Riley about different excuses Edward and I could make, Riley said that we had to go to show our support. Edward and I both knew he was right, but it didn't ease our distaste for having to get dressed up, be hounded by photographers, and have to talk to obnoxious Hollywood parasites. I had to hand it to Edward, though, because he had tonight harder than me. He arrived 45 minutes before I had to because he had to walk the red carpet and do interviews, so I was able to come whenever I wanted since I wasn't actively a part of the film. Thank god Alice was a part of the film and is here, too, to keep me company since I can't really talk to Edward.

My eyes jump from Edward to Alice, who's returning back to our table in the corner of this obnoxiously loud lounge from the bathroom.

"How much longer till it's socially acceptable to leave?" I mumble to Alice, who's just as bored as I am.

"Ugh, who knows. These wrap parties are usually so much more fun than whatever this is."

Alice and I continue to kill time by playing on her snapchat with the new filters that distort your face and make you puke rainbows. Sounds weird, I know, but it kept us solidly entertained for a good twenty minutes.

"Have you seen Jane yet? Edward told me she was a bitch to you when she was on set."

"No, I haven't heard from her since right before we wrapped a few weeks ago. She said she was going to be here, but I'm not protesting if she decides to not show."

"Same here. Edward dated her years ago and I couldn't stand her. There even was a period of time where Edward and I didn't speak because he was with her. She's just so… Jane."

"Well, she's in the past now." I say, changing the subject because I see Alice becoming sad thinking of the past.

"Exactly, and you're here now and that's all I could ask for." Alice throws me a wink that pulls my face into a grin.

Since Edward's big reveal the night of my gallery last weekend, our relationship has completely changed. There is no more uncertainty or discomfort when we touch each other out of fear that someone we know could walk in any minute. Just the fact that we have a small group of people that we can be ourselves around who support us as a unit is more than what Edward and I would ask for. Since that night, the sporadic walk-ins to Edward and I's place have grown exponentially. Like Edward, I always have my doors unlocked and encourage my friends to drop by whenever their hearts desire, but since letting everyone know about us, the excitement around us is massive. Like just the other morning, Edward and I were drinking our coffee while lying on the couch together and Rose and Emmett bursted in and the whole visit they just stared at us with shit eating smiles. It's incredibly sweet of all our friends to show support like this, but it was definitely weird for us to make the adjustment from an unknown, private couple to having a friends and family come through the door just to watch us be us in adoration. It also only makes me fear how it's going to be like when the whole world knows, not just about twenty of our closest family and friends. Also, since last weekend, my mother has already called me letting me know that she wants me to wear her wedding dress when I'm ready to walk down the isle. Seriously. I tell this woman I'm in a relationship, and apparently after the two conversations she's had with Edward she's concluded that we should get married next week.

Speaking of Australia, my phone begins to ring inside my clutch and one of Angus's songs plays as the ringtone, letting me know he's calling. I excuse myself from Alice and tell her I'm stepping outside and will be back in a minute, but she doesn't even notice because she's so enthralled by the puppy snapchat filter.

"Hello sweet brother o' mine" I pick up the phone once I'm outside in the back of the lounge where I entered. There are a few people having a smoke, but I'm alone for the most part.

"Hey sis, is this a bad time?"

"Yeah, kind of, I'm at the dead boring wrap party." I wrap my arms around myself when the cool LA wind hits my exposed arms and legs from my dress.

"It's not a problem, I just wanted to talk about possibly writing a couple of new tracks when you get here for Thanksgiving…" Angus continues to explain the concept of it, but my attention shifts from our conversation to a tough, scruffy, bald, Italian-looking man who's having a smoke on the other end of the wall I'm leaning on. Something about his demeanor gave me the creeps when I first saw him, and the occasional glances from him to me weren't like normal public eye contact.

I watch wearily as he stomps on his cigarette butt and straightens out his jacket. By now, the other two smokers on my right have already gone in so it's just creepy Italian man and I. My eyes widen as he walks in my direction and I try to tell Angus that something's wrong, but my jaw's frozen. My knees begin to wobble and the lamppost in front of me distorts and I suddenly feel like I'm on a tipping ship in the middle of a storm. The last thing I remember before I completely slipped away was the blur of the passing streetlights above me as the Italian man carried me to an unknown place. I couldn't struggle, I couldn't put up a fight against this man, I couldn't scream. I was paralyzed.

And then it all went dark and fuzzy.

It was dark and there was a long table in front of me. This is all I know so far.

I groan when the extreme fatigue takes over and struggle to get up as if this was my first time walking. Where the fuck was I?

Ok. I was talking to Angus, that I'm sure of. Then there was somebody… Creepy Italian Man!

Lights above me as if he was carrying me.

Was he the one who put me here?

I randomly smack the wall until I finally find the switch near the door. The bright lights blind me and I rub my eyes for a minute before I can see clearly.

This was… a conference room?

There were boring looking chairs around a large table and very few windows. I begin to regain my senses and realize that there is what sounds like a crowd below me. There was loud music being played and I could faintly hear the sound of clinking glasses and indistinct chatter. Right when I reach for the door handle, I feel it twist it in my hand, but in the opposite direction of the way I'm twisting.

"Oh, good, you're ready to talk." It takes awhile to comprehend the face standing on the other side of the door.

"Jane?" The blonde hair and bitchy expression were hard to miss.

Did I get drunk and take a messed up drug? Was something slipped in my drink? This all just feels like a really bizarre trip.

"Do you know where I am? I know this sounds crazy, but I don't reme-"

"I got you here, silly." Jane bursts through the door and plops down in the seat across from me. She was in similar attire as me- a nice dress and heels- with a champagne glass in her hand.

"No, I don't think you understand, I don't kn-"

"Bella. I got you here. I got a very loyal friend of mine to make you go night-night for about half an hour and leave you in here so we can talk. I know the whole putting you to sleep thing was a bit dramatic, but I thought it would make more things interesting."

Okay. This was definitely the weirdest, worst high I've ever had.

I stare at Jane for a few seconds before moving to touch the table in front of me. It didn't explode into rainbows, the walls aren't waving, and I'm not seeing unicorns explode out of Jane's mouth.

Was this actual life? Am I not making this in my head?

Jane despises me. She has a motive to do this, although it's quite unclear at the time. Holy shit she really did get the creepy Italian man to knock me out and lock me in this room.

"Jane. What the fuck is this about, and where am I." This wasn't even a question, this was a demand for her to tell me.

"Relax, you haven't moved anywhere. You're just in one of the conference rooms above the venue where we're having the wrap party… The party's below us. I wanted to have a chat with you in private and I knew you wouldn't do it willingly, so I called in reinforcements. The fear factor of getting shit planted in your Manhattan was a plus, too."

I hear the familiar voice of my Edward's in my head guiding me through.

 _Ok, Bella. This girl clearly isn't stable so don't push her over the edge. Remain calm._ "Ok then. Let's talk." I swallow down the harsh threats I want to blurt out at her and my stomach churns when a sick smile creeps across her face.

"I knew you'd understand. First off, did you receive my flowers?"

"Yes, what's the point?" I say as relaxed as I can

"Well, I don't know if you're aware of the meaning behind flowers, but I sent you a very special kind. Aster flowers mean that there's a huge surprise coming your way. Did you know that, Bella?"

"No, I didn't. What's the meaning of all this?"

"The bottom line is, Bella, that I've known you for a very long time." At this point, a stomach-churning smile is creeping across her face.

"What do you mean by that, Jane?" _Remain clam, Bella. Don't show her you're unnerved._

"Well, I first heard about you when I met my best friend. She knows you very well and told me everything about you. That was when I first had the impulse to make your life a living hell. As I learned more and more about your true self, my hatred towards an evil being like you grew exponentially, but I had no way to get to you. You see, at the time, I was with Edward and he and I weren't exactly the most… holy pair. I mean, most of the time he was too high to see straight. A couple weeks passed and he left me for some skank he met on a movie set." she takes a swig of her drink and bites down her apparent anger from the memory. "But, by God's will, I was lead back to the two people I wanted the most… You, and Edward." She has a slight smile like she's picturing my face getting torn off my body.

"I finally found the infamous Bella through the man that still has my heart trapped in a deep, dark, locked dungeon inside of him. Of course, when I found you I immediately called my best friend and told her considering she's been looking for you for a long time too, Bella." At this point Jane is leaning in closer, her eyes almost a blood red boring into my own.

"From what I know, you have some bottomless reason to despise my best friend and you're out to get her. I'm here because if you don't stay the fuck away from Edward and if you continue to try and put my best friend behind bars in some psychiatric ward, then I will leak to the presses the real story of what happened and I will make sure that this girl haunts your life forever, with my help. Is this a deal?" Jane is breathing heavily, her shoulders lifting and falling rapidly.

This had to be about her.

I can already feel the panic ripping through my veins.

I have to ask the question, but I already know the answer.

"Who are you talking about, Jane?" My eyes flinch when I say this. She cracked me.

She inhales a breath of arrogance and falls back in her seat, arms crossed.

"Laura Swan. Your sister. My best friend."

This was all I needed to unravel. My vision becomes blurry, the corners of my eyes begin to burn, my right middle finger begins to shake. I can't do this. I have to go. _Make her feel inadequate, love. Her insecurity within herself is her weakness, so target that. Right now she believes she's above you, so remind her that you're the one who has the power._

Edward's gentle voice in my head delays my panic attack for a few more seconds. I had to listen to him; I had to be strong and face her head on.

"Jane, there's something very important you missed about me."

"And what's that?" The arrogance is rolling off her in waves

"That I've been through worse and I now know exactly how to get through. Your words are completely empty and there is no way you can break me. I've been through so much crueler and I'm still here, Jane, so if I were you, I would work on improving your _own_ life instead of focusing on the destruction of others. Mark my words, I am stronger than you think and somebody as low as you cannot bring me down. I'm not leaving Edward, and I made a promise to never compromise justice for my own security and comfort. So, I will continue to fight to put that girl in the place she deserves, and I will also not let Edward leave my side, and he won't let me either. Tell Laura where I am, leak the stories to the presses, I really don't give a fuck. The bottom line is, though, I am a much stronger person now and seeing Laura again will dent me, but it will not break me, and I am more than willing to go public with _my_ story and prove to the presses that you are the sick one here, Jane. My final advice to you is to choose your course of action wisely and don't forget that I keep to my word. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a life to live."

I stand up so abruptly from my chair that it rolls behind me and slams into the wall. My chest is heaving, my knuckles white.

I head for the door, unable to even see or hear Jane's reaction. She was a sick, sick human. All the words I said made me seem like I was strong and nothing that she said affected me, but inside I was broken and bleeding. The truth is that seeing Laura again would probably break me and that I wouldn't have the courage to step out with my story to disprove what ever false, sick, twisted tale Laura told her. I spent years building the courage to move to the other side of the globe to escape her, and she's found me. The walls were closing in and the oxygen levels in this conference room were dropping exponentially.

I whip the door open and am face to face with creepy, bald Italian man, guarding the door.

All I want to do is knee him in the balls and get past him to run away, but I've already lost. There's no point in putting up a fight.

I glare at him and hear Jane's voice behind me.

"Don't worry, Felix, you can let her go."

With one last glare, the sick man who works for Jane and is supposedly is called Felix steps to the side and I bolt for the stairwell.

I run down six flights of stairs until I bust the door open into the dark night, abandon my heels, and begin to run to wherever until my legs stop working.

* * *

 **Ahhh, I'm sorry about the ciffy. I hope you liked it…?**

 **This is where the plot really begins to develop, as I said before, and you learn about the depths and backstories of these characters.**

 **All I can say is that don't doubt Bella and wait till the next chapter to figure out more.**

 **This is also where little random parts of the previous chapters begin to weave together and build the core of this story.**

 **I'll get writing the next chapter as soon as I can, but for now, leave a review and ask any questions you have. I'll answer, I promise :)**

 **Love you guys, and sorry for the delay again.**

 **xx.**


	25. Please Don't Go, I Love You So

**A/N:**

 **Hi you guys, I'm back! Sorry this one is delayed... I have so few days where I feel well enough to do anything, let alone sit down and write, but the other day I was feeling good so I worked on this one for you all.**

 **It seems like you all really enjoyed the last one, which made me super happy :) I hope you love this just as much and it leaves you with as much anticipation as the last.**

 **There aren't any visuals for this chapter, as well, but I will leave a reference link at the bottom that might help with this chapter.**

 **Please be an amazing human being and leave a review! It would certainly brighten these sick days :):):)**

 **Hope you like it.**

 **xx,**

 **S**

* * *

Angus POV

"Jesus shut that thing off." Chelsea, the hot fan I picked up at my show last night, groans into the pillow next to me in bed.

 _Her name was Chelsea, right? Maybe Hannah. Shit._

My senses awaken when I realize the phone ringing in my dream is actually my own phone buzzing on the bedside table.

"Fuck off." I yell into my own pillow at the person who thinks it's appropriate to be calling at 6am when I went to bed two hours earlier.

I shoot my hand out and blindly move it around until I feel the smooth leather of my buzzing phone case.

The buzzing stops finally since I missed the bastard calling this early and I rub my eyes, letting them adjust to the light, before seeing whose call I missed.

Edward Cullen  
Missed Call (37)

Edward Cullen  
iMessage (16)

Rose Swan-Hale  
Missed Call (14)

Emmett Hale  
iMessage (28)

My heart drops to my stomach. These are all the people with Bella. I practically fall out of bed, scrambling to find my pants on top of the house plant in the corner next to this chick's bra.

"Where are you going" She's propped up on her elbows, sex hair and all, looking very different than when I saw her after a few beers last night.

"Gotta go. Uh, um, there's food in the fridge. Make yourself at home."

I don't even stick around to hear her response and bolt out the door, hitting the call button next to Edward as I am practically sprinting to my car.

"Angus, I swear to god, it took all of us 40 phone calls to reach you?" The harsh voice of Rose booms into my ear.

"I'm sorry, it's 6am here. What the fuck is going on? Why are you on Edward's phone?"

"It's Bella. She disappeared last night and her phone's off or dead. Edward's a mess. I swear to god, Angus, if something fucking happened to her-" Rose chokes out a sob and I feel my heart crack at the news and Rose's sadness.

 _Bella is okay. Bella is okay._

I keep repeating this mantra, convincing myself that it's true and scramble to figure out how to calm Rose down.

Since I was a baby, I always was the peacemaker and the person who always was in charge and levelheaded during a crisis. I'm trying really hard to be that person right now, but to be honest I'm scared out of my mind.

"Okay, Rose, breathe. I'm getting in the car right now and driving to Mum and Dad's. I need you to focus really hard right now with Emmett and Edward and think about any place she could be. It could be a place she always escapes to when she's stressed, her favorite place, a place where something meaningful happened."

"Um, shit, okay. Did you guys hear that?" Rose asks to Emmett and Edward who are listening in on speakerphone.

"Edward, I swear to god now is not the time to be sulking. We need to think." I hear Emmett say on the other end.

The other line is silent for a minute or two while they think.

"Angus, I'm sorry, we got nothing. What should we do? Should we call the cops?" Rose asks, panicky.

In all honestly, I didn't know what the fuck to do. I puzzle trying to think of solution and begin to bullshit one before I hear Edward's voice cut me off.

"Wait,"

"What? Did she text you?" I say in a panicked, anxious tone.

"You idiot!" I hear Edward yell to who I assume is himself. I hear what sounds like the phone being passed off and am struck with a voice that I recognize as Edward's. "Angus, we'll call you back when we get there. I know where Bella is."

With that, the line went dead.

EPOV

I was a complete, utter idiot. Bella's been missing for a total of four hours and I didn't realize what was right smack in front of me.

If Bella wasn't taken, which we decided probably isn't the case, she must've ran somewhere for some unknown reason. The one thing we do know, as Angus pointed out, is that she most likely ran to a place she felt as an escape, a place of solace for her.

 _Bella huffs once again as I feel her hands on my shoulders as she spins me around._

 _And there it is._

 _You can see miles and miles of yellow, purple, orange, and white twinkling lights that perfectly mirror the sky above us. There are skyscrapers, highways, houses, avenues, parkways and I never imagined that these industrial structures could be so beautiful._

 _"Amazing, right?" I look to my left and see Bella standing next to me with the same look of awe on her face as me._

 _I can't even answer her because my brain can't leave the gorgeous sight in front of me._

It was the hill she brought me to at 4 am with after filming Scarlet when I was first beginning to have feelings for her; she spoke about it as a place where she found comfort and escaped to. That night was the night she told me about being a war photographer, played twenty questions, and ate Chinese food until sunrise, just the two of us.

I anxiously fumble through the keys before I find the one to my car and throw them to Emmett. I jump in the passenger's side and kick into high gear, giving him precise directions as to how to get there. I never thought I could remember how to get to a dirt path I was at weeks ago, but the adrenaline kicked my memory into high gear and I was spitting out directions I didn't even know I knew. It was only two miles from the venue of the wrap party where she went missing, so it made sense that she would be there.

She had to be.

I shout at Emmett when I see the tiny path through the trees and the car screeches to a halt. Before the car even comes to a full stop, I jump out and bolt for the path. Emmett and Rose follow, and I'm running up this hill as fast as I can. My eyes are up, earning to see the peak of the hill and a brunette sitting on top of it. The hill feels like miles long and I'm running and running, but it feels like the top will never come.

Finally, the slope begins to decrease and my heart jumps out of my body when I see the back of Bella's head in the black dress she was wearing.

"BELLA" I shout, and my legs move faster than I ever thought they could.

She doesn't turn around for a moment, so I continue shouting her name until she slowly turns around to see me running towards her. She breaks out of shock and her eyes widen, realizing that it's really me. I don't stop until I get to her and scoop her onto my lap, burying my face in her.

The best way to describe this feeling is the feeling like you're drowning and right before you feel like you can hold on any longer, you see the surface of the water. This was like getting that first breath of air after being trapped underwater, drowning.

"Edward-I-I'm-I'm so sorry" She chokes out, breaking my heart into two and wetting my shoulder with her tears.

"Shh… I know, baby. I'm here now. Nothing can hurt you. I'm here. Shh…" I continue whispering these words to her, reminding her that whatever happened can be fixed and that I'm here.

"Bella" I hear Emmett's booming voice and see Rose and Emmett running towards us.

"Bella, oh thank god." Rosalie and Emmett run over and wraps their arms around us as she continues to sob while I rub circles around her back.

"Bella, I know it's hard right now, but you have to tell us why you ran away like that." Emmett pleads softly.

Bella pulls herself away and I get my first glimpse of her face. She looked heartbroken, tired, scared, anxious… She looked truly broken. And right then I broke for her.

She takes a deep breath and wipes the tears under her eyes.

"Edward, you know how much I love you with all my being, but I need to talk to Rosalie before I do anything. The same for you too, Emmett. You know how important you both are to me, and I will explain everything, but I need to talk to Rose right now because this concerns her."

 _What the fuck is she thinking? I am madly in love with her and we have accepted each other as life partners and I don't deserve to know why she disappeared in the middle of the night?_

"This concerns Rose?" Emmett's tone is slightly elevated. "Bella, if this concerns Rose then I have a right to know. Don't pull this on me."

"Emmett-" Rose snaps.

"I know this is all confusing right now but you have to understand that with the situation I need to speak to Rose only right now."

"Come on," I say calmly, touching Emmett's shoulder. I had to admit I'm still pissed that Bella said she couldn't speak about this to me yet, but I am beginning to understand that she knows what's best for her now.

Emmett contemplates arguing for a second, but instead surrenders and follows me back down the hill.

We walk down the hill in silence, Emmett slightly ahead of me with anxiety clearly in his step. Emmett and I both reach the bottom of the hill and I sit on the hood of our car, taking a breath and burying my head in my arms.

What the fuck was going on? My body so clearly doesn't know how to react; as anxious as I am right now, I can't be as worried as I think I should feel because I have no idea what I should be worried about. As far as I know, Bella could be talking about Rose about how she thinks there's a zombie apocalypse happening.

"Do you have any clue what's going on?" Emmett asks, the look of worry on his face matching mine.

"I really wish I did."

For the first time since we've met, Emmett and I sit in silence together. Our normal conversations of sports, music, and just our lives in general feel so off in the distance. Both Emmett and I can't focus on anything but Bella and what the fuck happened tonight. How did she even end up here? My heart seizes when I think of the possibilities of what happened tonight.

After what feels like a decade, but really was only twenty minutes, I see a glimpse of blonde and brown as Rose and Bella emerge from the path. Bella looked awful, to be honest. She looked like she was so stressed her hair was coming out, her face was plagued with fear, and her aura of joyfulness, light, and solace that slapped me in the face the first time I was in the same room with her was gone. The light within her that was strong enough to brighten the darkest of days was put out.

And it was my job to turn it back on.

"What's going on?" Emmett says determinedly.

"Just drive us to our place and we'll explain as much as we can." Rose responds, looking like she was consumed by the thoughts of whatever Bella told her.

I turn around in the passenger seat to look back at Bella. Her eyes meet mine and she gives me a smile that I'm sure was to reassure me, but nothing can at this point. I was worried sick.

The drive to Emmett and Rose's place was dead silent. Nobody could even begin to think about speaking because we were so stuck in our own minds, stressing, worrying, and trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

Emmett puts the car in park once we pull into the driveway and as I step out of the car, Bella walks over to wrap her arms around my waist. The strong girl I fell in love with had left and was replaced with this tiny, fragile creature crying out for help. I wrap my arms around her as tightly as I can as she sobs quietly into my chest. I now see out of the corner of my eye that Rose and Emmett have gone inside, leaving Bella and I alone.

"Edward…" My heart gets stabbed when Bella chokes after saying my name, crying harder.

"Bella, shh…" I soothe her softly, encouraging her to let it out.

"Edward- I'm so sorry." She pulls her face away from my chest to wipe her tears, but I pull her right back to me.

"I'm so sorry for running, I'm sorry for leaving you when I should've turned to you, I'm sorry for getting you involved in my fucked up life, I'm sorry for not being able to tell you everything at this point, I'm sorry for being an idiot, but most of all, I'm sorry for not being the determined, level-headed girl who doesn't take shit from anybody that you love."

"Bells, are you crazy?" Her eyes are glued to the ground, so I get to my knees in her line of sight. "I will admit that I'm human and yes, it was a stab in the chest when you pushed me away and said you only wanted to speak to Rose. But I took a minute to understand that you know what's best and my own ego shouldn't get in the way of this. And yes, I was furious when you chose to run away instead of coming to me like you promised you would. And yes, it made me feel insignificant and unwanted,"

Bella gasps painfully, cutting me off. "Oh God, Edward, I'm so sorry. I'm an idiot because you have no idea how much you are needed and loved to me but I just made it look like I didn't. I now know I shouldn't have ran, but I think once I tell you everything you will realize why I felt it was my only option."

"I know, love, which is why I'm here. I'm only here to listen and to help you. But Bella, we're not perfect at all and trust is something we have to work on, you have to learn how to trust that I'll be there for you and that you don't need to run for me and I need to work on trying to remove my ego from this relationship. All that matters is that I truly love you and I'm here."

"But how?" Bella quips frustratingly, beginning to cry again. "God, Edward…" tears are streaming down her face and she's looking up at the sky. "How could you ever love me like this? It took me awhile, but I finally came to the point where I accepted that you _really_ loved the Bella you've gotten to know these past months. And I have also accepted that that Bella does deserved to be loved, too. But this? How could you love this Bella now that you've seen her? I'm broken, irrational, insensitive, and I can be an asshole who puts my own feelings before others. I mean, look at how I left you there to worry about whether I was alive or not all tonight-"

"GODDAMNIT, BELLA," at this point I was on my feet, pinching the bridge of my nose. How could she be so goddamn blind?

"Have you not listened to every word I've spoken to you, Bella?" I take a breath and regain my sanity before continuing in a softer voice. "I love you for all of you, Bella, not _just_ the determined, level-headed girl who doesn't take shit from anybody. And although you can't see it right now, which is incredibly infuriating to be honest, I love you for how you are now, and this side of you that you describe as irrational and broken deserves to be loved just as much as the other side of you. This Bella is so incredibly open, honest, and willing to be vulnerable, and that's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in somebody. I love every aspect of you, Bella, and you need to see that. We have dimensions and as humans we don't have just have one personality or mindset we stick to. When I say I love you, I mean _all_ of you, Bella. I love the Bella who dances on tables, and I love the Bella who never gets out of bed on Sundays. I love the Bella who curses like a sailor, and I love the Bella who's so dainty and graceful. I love all of you, Bella; I love all each end of the spectrum and everything in between. How could you not see that?" By now, I realize that my face is covered in my own tears.

At this point, Bella's hands are cupping her face and she's just breathing, crying so quietly to herself and listening to my words, and I'm praying that she's understanding.

"How could I have found someone like you?" She uncovers her face and looks me right in the eyes, the now-red whites of her eyes contrasting from the bright green of her eyes making them glimmer.

I pull her to place a light kiss on her lips, feeling complete in her arms once again, as our tears mix with our faces pressed together. Bella's pain was my pain, and my pain was Bella's pain. Our tears were tied.

"God, I love you. Every single part." She whispers against my lips.

"I love you too, my Bells." I whisper back.

We sit there for awhile just in each others arms.

"I can't imagine how exhausted you are, you can tell me everything first thing in the morning after you get some rest." I whisper after a few moments, working on pulling my ego out of the relationship like I promised I would. I was proud of myself because I'm finally putting aside my own desire to know what happened at this instant and realizing that this conversation was exhausting and Bella might not be up to it, no matter what I want.

"No, Edward. And believe me, I appreciate that despite how anxious you must be to know, you even offered to let this wait. But it's time, Edward. It's time you know everything."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm an ass, I know.**

 **I hope this is keeping you all engaged and I will be posting again as soon as I am able too.**

 **For those of you who want a refresher, the chapter about the hill where Edward and Bella go is Chapter 11: Midnight, Car Lights (pt. 2). All the visuals for the hill are there as well if you would like to be reminded of what it looks like :)**

 **I'll talk to you all as soon as I can and I am so thankful for your patience.**

 **Onward and Upward,**

 **S**


	26. Open

**A/N: My favorite people!**

 **Thank you so much for being patient. Last weekend I just sat down and wrote this whole thing in four hours. I got my coffee, sat at my desk, turned my music on, and didn't leave until I was finished. Because this is such a dense and long chapter, it took forever to edit so that's why it was a bit more delayed than normal.**

 **The good news is that exams and school finish June 9, so once that day comes I'm all yours! I'm not going to Maui like I planned this summer, but I still have super fun plans nonetheless, so I will be updating much more than I am now. With the amount of tests and essays I have to write during the school year, this story unfortunately gets pushed back in my schedule.**

 **Anyways, this is one of the most important chapters of this story and one that I've been looking forward to write since this story began.**

 **Here, you find out Bella's story. All of it.**

 **Most of it is her explaining it all, and I have Edward ask the basic, logistic questions you all most likely have and Bella answers them.**

 **IMPORTANT:**

 ********If there are still remaining questions, chances are I'm planning to answer them in a future chapter, but still be sure to PM them to me or leave them in a review so I make sure to answer all the ones you have in the coming chapters.********

 **^^^This is really important, and I hope you all don't hesitate to send them to me. Just remember that this chapter isn't the last time questions get answered, though, so I purposefully left some questions unanswered for the time being.**

 **For now, read this chapter carefully, for it is very detailed, and enjoy the treat I left at the end ;) I think you'll appreciate it.**

 **I will be posting how this story is an autobiography soon, with a character-by-character analysis and comparison. It will be interesting for you guys to read and will definitely add more depth to the story and explain why it is the way it is. I'm also working on the Beautifully Broken playlist.**

 **REVIEW, PLEASE! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND SEND YOU HUGS EVERYDAY**

 **xx,**

 **S**

* * *

" _I can't imagine how exhausted you are, you can tell me everything first thing in the morning after you get some rest." I whisper after a few moments, working on pulling my ego out of the relationship like I promised I would. I was proud of myself because I'm finally putting aside my own desire to know what happened at this instant and realizing that this conversation was exhausting and Bella might not be up to it._

" _No, Edward. And believe me, I appreciate that despite how anxious you must be to know, you even offered to let this wait. But it's time Edward. It's time you know everything."_

EPOV

I slip inside to find Emmett and Rose speaking quietly and seriously on the couches in a conversation I know I was about to have with Bella. Rose pulls a tight-lipped smile at me to almost say, "I know it's a shitty situation, and I'm sorry". I walk over to the door to the garage and open up the trunk of my car. At the party, I was overwhelmed by gifts from different producers, cast, crew members, and pretty much everyone who had any involvement in the movie. It was common courtesy to get a congratulations gift for the lead actor(s) and the director, so now the trunk of my car was stuffed with boxes of random gifts from tonight. I retrieve the bottle of Macallans Scotch from 1973 that was probably worth a couple grand. I had my eyes on it since some big-shot Hollywood guy gave it to me tonight, unknowing that scotch was like heroin to me, as it was to Bella.

I had completely forgot about my phone until I feel it jump to life in my back pocket.

"Hello?"

"Don't you dare try and "hello" me, Cullen- Who the fuck do you think you are? Where the fuck is my sister?"

 _Shit. Angus._

I completely forgot to tell him the small bit of information that his sister was alive and well; a pang of guilt slaps me when I realize how worried he must've been.

"Shit, Angus. Bella's fine, I'm sor-"

I am cut off by a deep sigh of relief, but it was brief because within a moment I feel his tension arise and cut through the phone.

"Save it. Look, you haven't been in Bella's life for even six months so let me fill you in. I was given the grueling responsibility of being the strong sibling in the family. _I_ am the one who's expected to smile through the pain and calm everyone's nerves. When you called and told me what happened, I tried as hard as I fucking could to hold on to that role but you have _no_ idea how fucking scared I was. So don't you dare try and make up some sick excuse as to why you let me almost begin to believe that my sister was actually in real fucking danger."

"I'm not trying to make excuses. It was unacceptable and I know it." I was a dick. His family is his everything and I let him believe his sister had left him for good.

"Just count your blessings and thank whoever is up there that I am more tied to Bella than you will ever know."

I pause for a moment. "I don't understand"

"Since we were children, Bella and I have had almost like a twin connection. If Bella were in danger tonight, I would've known it. So, you better be fucking thankful that I didn't get that sense or else you would be expecting me in LA in a few hours to serve you your own fucking balls for dinner on a silver platter for ever letting something happen to her. Plus, I knew nothing happened because Bella's been trained in fighting and boxing since she was twelve and I know that any fucker who laid her hands on her would get hell reigned down on them." _Well, that explains why her slaps burn like hell._

"Angus, I know you're pissed and I would be just as pissed as you are, maybe even more. But I don't even know what happened tonight and I'm on my way to talk to Bella about just that. So, all I can ask is that you forgive me and I will either have Bella or I call first thing in the morning and explain everything once _I_ even know what happened. Just know that she's fine and there isn't a scratch on her." There's silence on the other end as he listens to my words.

"Fine. First thing in the fucking morning, Cullen; just because I'm across the world doesn't mean I don't deserve to be updated on my own sister's wellbeing."

"I promise, Angus."

With that, I hear the line go dead and slip the phone back in my pocket. Angus was handled for now, so I had to return to my first priority: Bella.

I exit the garage and walk around back to find Bella sitting at the edge of the pool, her face illuminated by the neon blue of the pool water and lights. There was a slight breeze in the air, a chill to match the chill that went down my spine when I found out about Bella going missing a few hours ago.

"Thought we needed this." I say, placing the bottle next to her at the edge of the pool as I roll up my pants and dip my feet in next to her.

Her eyes instantly light up and my cock wakes up as I watch her tear off the top and take a swig right from the bottle before passing it off to me.

 _That was fucking hot. But now's not the time, dick, so calm down._

"To brown liquids." She says with a small smirk that matched mine as we both recognize that as our toast to each other the night of the Alt-J concert.

"You know, I used to hate meeting other people." Bella remarks. I hold the bottle by its neck and let it swing aimlessly, then looking over at Bella who's eyes are blank, staring out into nothingness.

 _I hated this distance between us._

"I loved being with people, but I hated _meeting_ them. The introductions were so… artificial. Then they would get into family and that… ended the conversation. Too few people realize how sensitive questions about your family can be for people." The look in her eyes as she pauses says it all.

I needed chains and locks. I needed to chain and lock up my heart because what was to come would break it. I brace myself and squint my eyes closed, turning away slightly, almost like a child at the doctor waiting for the needle to poke them.

"I was born November 15th, 1992. At the time, Rose was four," She takes a shaky breath in before proceeding, "Laura was one."

"Laura?" I ask, puzzled, almost scared to ask because I knew this was where the story began. And I knew it wasn't a happy one.

"A woman whom I share blood with." She responds, emotionless.

Bella had another sister. And all I knew is that she hurt my own love enough for her to not even call her a sister, but rather a woman whom she shares blood with. This was all it took for me to desire her head on a stake.

"My mother, Reneé, was an incredible surfer; she was the one who taught me everything. When my mom had just had Rose, though, she was so desperate to get back on her board. Her doctor specifically told her it would be weeks, but one week after giving birth, my stubborn ass mother grabbed her board and went back out there. She surfed well, and right before she was to paddle in, she saw the perfect wave in the distance. She paddled out there as fast as she could, hungry for just one last adrenaline rush. She caught the wave and rode it, until she felt lightheaded from the leftover drugs and toppled off the board. The wave was so strong it yanked her right into a reef, cutting her up and breaking her."

Right after that, I add more chains and bolts.

"Long story short, a local saw it happen and she was rushed to the hospital. She had broken parts of her back and was cut up badly, but she was fucking lucky. She was in rehab and eventually got out and was sent home. Her injuries were terrible, so the doctors were injecting her with a cocktail of every opiate on the market so she couldn't see straight. They were filling her with so much that she eventually got addicted. Rose was about six months now and Charlie, my father, was so concerned about my mom and her injuries that he couldn't even see his wife was high as a kite every second of the day." She laughs with no humor behind it.

"Since she couldn't care for Rose in her medical condition, my dad took the lead and played the part as mother and father so my mom had no responsibilities. As an addict, my mother took the time that was supposed to be devoted to resting and instead began experimenting with other drugs, which was all unknown to my father. By the time Rose was one, my mom was addicted to coke, pain meds, and was just beginning to introduce herself to heroin." Bella shakes her head sadly and I know this isn't near the end of it.

"By then, Rose was self sufficient enough for my dad to get his head out of ass and notice something was really wrong. A part of me believes he knew it all along, but just didn't want to face it. He brought her to the doctor seeking advice, and her blood levels were completely fucked, but not just because of the drugs. That day, my mom found out she was going to rehab and that she was pregnant." She rubs her hand over her forehead in frustration.

"My mom was too high to even notice that she had missed her period or that she was four fucking months pregnant. She thought that she had just gained weight from being bed-ridden and my dad had no way of knowing because she was under the covers in bed the whole time and he thought her weird behavior was just from the pain and meds she was on."

"My mom went to rehab but relapsed a shit ton. It wasn't until she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to Laura, who was pre-addicted to every drug, that she stopped. She hasn't used since that day." A small smile crosses her lips when she thinks about Renée's sobriety.

"She threw her whole life into being a mother; trying to make up for the lost years to Rose, and trying to make up to Laura for using while pregnant. Those years she tried so fucking hard, and then she got the news she was pregnant with me; it was the best news she had ever heard. She had a chance to do it right this time, during pregnancy and afterwards. The good thing is that she did; she was the best fucking mother I could've asked for, besides her past. She even went back to school and became a family therapist in rehabs." The smallest glimmer of light flashes across her face and my heart beat increases rapidly. I needed that glimmer of light to get me through the rest of this and to know she will be okay.

"By the time I was five and Laura was seven, my mom had had Angus, who was three at the time. The consequences of my mom's past drug use during pregnancy began to show through Laura. She had behavioral issues at school and was always just… odd. She would to things like kiss the boy she knew I liked on the playground and would be confused as to why I was sad. She would copy my work from art class and submit it to the primary school art contest and win, and she would still be genuinely puzzled as to why that wasn't okay. Eventually, my mom brought Laura to the doctor and she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder that was brought on from the drugs during her pregnancy. Of course, my mother was devastated and wanted to die knowing that her daughter was diagnosed with something awful because of her own mistakes, but also knowing that this is a gateway illness that is pretty much guaranteed to lead to other mental illnesses, especially in Laura's case. My mom, like she does, threw her whole being into finding the best treatments for Laura, but she knew this would a game she would lose. No medicine could help the monster tearing to get out. But that's the thing about my mom... After every mistake she ever makes she always does the right thing, and that's what matters most to me. After relying on my dad to raise Rose for the first two years of her life, she made sure after that she treated Rose like her own precious gem and devoted the rest of her life to making up for those two years lost. After finding out about Laura's illness, she made sure she had every possible treatment out there even though she was told by every doctor it was a lost cause; she never gave up. When she became pregnant with me after "messing up" on raising the last two kids, she made sure to do it right and be that best damn mom anyone could've asked for. Because of that, I truly believe that in life it isn't about what someone does, but what they do afterwards that defines them."

I notice a small tear slip out of her eye.

Crack.

That was the first crack of my heart, and I knew it wouldn't be the last as the story of her childhood went on.

"Laura's diagnosis was when it all started, though. For the next ten years, I was emotionally abused by Laura."

Crack.

Crack.

"It began as simple taunting, but escalated to so much more faster than we could imagine. I would stay at school every night hiding in the music room with Angus, who would stay with me because he knew what I was going home to. You see, with borderline personality disorder you latch onto something or someone for stability. I was the lucky one who she latched on to, and her stability became torturing me; she couldn't breathe without making sure every second of my life was consumed by the threat of her existence.

I put my emotions into music and all my pent up physical anger into boxing. Rose is the avoidance kind, so she was never home during the day and partied every night, devoting herself to become the queen bee at her new high school, which she did successfully. Despite it all, Rose was always home at the end of the night to check on me. Angus and I would walk home from school and once we got to the door he would go to his room and lock the doors, but not before hugging me. He knew what was coming for me every night and I don't blame him for not wanting to be around to watch. Laura would harass me, telling me how I was the equivalent of the devil for being placed on the earth as some kind of recovery, golden child for our mother. She told me day in and day out that I was the replacement child for her since she wasn't what our parents wanted. She would scream so loudly that I remember getting to the point where I couldn't hear the teacher at the front of the class from all the hearing damage. My mom was powerless; she knew she couldn't stop Laura. The only way this could all stop was sending her away and banishing her from the family, but she couldn't do that because she felt responsible for Laura's sickness. Since she spent so much time watching Laura making sure she didn't kill herself or try and hurt one of us, I had to raise myself with Rose's help, as did Angus. Even though she didn't touch Angus or Rose and just targeted me, Angus still went through shit because he had to watch it all. My dad was like Rose, his way of dealing with shit was running, so he immersed himself in his work as an architect and slept at the office. I barely ever saw him. He was just so scared and avoidance was the only way he felt he could handle things."

She takes a deep breath and continues.

"Of course, Laura becomes addicted to pills and no one knew how to stop her. On top of her BPD, she had anxitey disorder and depression. My parents didn't have the strength to send her away with the situation, but she couldn't be controlled in the space she was in. I remember a few times watching Laura scream at my mom that if she didn't give her her pills she'd slit her throat, with a knife she had stolen from the school pressed at her neck, since we couldn't have knives or any kind of weapons in our house for our own safety. A lot of other fucked up shit like that happened, but the details aren't important.

I was fifteen and Laura was seventeen when I watched as Laura stormed out of the house after my mom flushed her pills and she drove into a tree. When Laura was in the hospital recovering from her broken shoulder, the cops figured out pretty easily what was going on and urged my parents to send her to a psychiatric hospital. Once she was healed, they decided that letting her go would be the best decision for her, so they placed her in a rehab and psychiatric hospital. It was the worst thing to ever happen to my parents at the time, but they still say that to this day it was the best thing that could've ever happened to them because they finally chose the wellbeing of our whole family over their own daughter, which would be an excruciating decision for anyone to make. But, they chose the happiness of my siblings, themselves, and I over Laura's and sent her away to the psych ward to get help. All I remember is hearing the news that next morning and sprinting out the door. I let my feet take control and I ran as fast as I could, all the way to the top of a cliff over the ocean by my house. The last time I was at that exact cliff I was there only months before, contemplating about jumping. But when I stood there then knowing that Laura was gone, I just fucking screamed and cried tears of joy. The pain was over. Laura went away to get real help instead of trying to relieve her pain through hurting me. I was free for once. I remember being amazed because instead of wanting to jump off the cliff to end my life like I had only weeks before, I wanted to jump just so I could fly. I had never felt so liberated in my whole entire life. It's still an emotion that is so fucking vivid and I never want it to leave my mind; I have never experienced happiness like that since that day."

I was without words, to be frank.

The girl beside me was now a different girl in my eyes.

I look at her now and all I can see is courage. She went through absolute fucking hell and still is going through it to this day, but she's still here.

She's still fucking here.

I see in her face that she's thinking along the same lines as I am; she was alive.

My breathing hitches, though, when I see all that color that had reentered her face disappear in a moment.

As much as I wanted to deny it, something happened tonight. And by now, I knew this had to do with Laura. This story wasn't over as much as I wanted it to be.

She sniffles in and wipes her eyes with the sleeves of my sweater I gave her on the ride home.

"When I turned eighteen and knew I had to go to college, so I chose the school 7,190 miles away from my past. I still have no clue what happened to Laura after she got taken away, and I still can't find the strength within me to find out. I know that she had no control over her disorder and sometimes I feel like a terrible person for thinking the way I do, but she damaged me beyond repair and I can't see past that. When I left, I didn't look back. I just needed space to think through everything that had happened the past eighteen years with no attachments, and I did so. But tonight, everything I had every worked for crumbled."

By now the tears are heavy.

"I was sitting with Alice at the wrap party when Angus called me. I stepped outside to take the phone call and was catching up with him normally until some man came up to me. All I can remember at this point is waking up in a chair in a random conference room at the hotel where the party was hosted. I went to the door but was met by no other than Jane."

"Jane, as in the Jane we know?" I cut in. _Where the fuck was this going?_

"Yes. She sat me down and explained that she had the man who approached me outside drug my drink to scare me and also so he could carry me into this room without a fight put up by me. She sat me down and told me my worst fucking nightmare, Edward." Bella's heaving at this point, tears pouring out her eyes and she's shaking like a leaf.

Crack.

 _Fuck this distance._

I pull her onto my lap and she sobs into my chest, gripping my shirt.

"I am so sorry, my love. I am so, so sorry." I whisper, my tears hitting her hair. I cried for the little girl hiding in the music room at her school until the janitors kicked her out. I cried for the little girl who watched her mom have a knife pressed to her neck. I cried for the girl who had to move 7,190 miles away just to feel somewhat safe. I cried because I knew no matter what I did, I couldn't get those years back for her, and that was all I wanted.

"Bella, you have to tell me what she told you, okay?" I murmur, pulling her face away from my chest and maneuvering it to look right at me.

 _God, she's so beautiful._

This only makes her break again and she pulls away from me.

Crack.

"That's the thing, Edward, I can't tell you. And you have no idea how much I wish I could."

Crack.

This time it wasn't my heart that was cracking, but my sanity. I lost it.

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, BELLA? After telling me everything, you're just going to get to the important part where _I_ become involved and you're just going to say that you can't tell me? That's complete bullshit and you know it." The second that all leaves my mouth in a very loud yell, I regret it. For the first time, I see Bella look up at me with nothing but fear.

She stared at me just as how I imagined how she looked at Laura when she screamed at her.

 _Edward Cullen, you're a fucking dick._

"Bella, God, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, I should've realized that screaming is a trigger for you. But Bella, you have to seriously be kidding when you say you cannot tell me what the happened tonight, especially after I have shown nothing but loyalty and love to you."

"God, this is so typical of you." The scared Bella gets shuts down within seconds and the lioness is back. I used to be turned on by this lioness, but now that I'm on the receiving end of the viciousness, I want nothing but for it to go far, far away. She shoots up and moves towards the towel on the pool chair.

"You know what, Edward? If your ego wasn't so fucking big, you could see how much I want to tell you and that I'm not just keeping this from you for shits and giggles, but because I seriously have no choice."

This was coming out so wrong.

"Bella, I see that. And I'm sorry, I'm working on my ego's presence in this relationship just as you're working on trusting me and you're making huge strides; just think about how hard that was to get yourself to trust me enough to tell me all that. But ,I need to know so I can help you and you need to trust me to know that whatever the is holding you back from telling me is useless. The only way you can get out of this is by having me. You may not want to admit it, but you can't do this on your own."

I pause and wait for her to retaliate. Instead, after what felt like hours, she shocks the hell out of me and drops the towel to return next to me by the edge of the pool.

 _She was letting me in._

 _Thank God, she was letting me in._

"Edward, you have to understand that I was told that if you knew about this then-" Bella chokes out a sob when she thinks about the threat that was placed against her.

Crack.

"Who threatened you, Bella? Was it Jane?" I ask, pleading for an answer.

She tightly nods, her face full of pain.

"You have to know one thing." I start. She turns to me, but not without hesitation. "Jane is the most useless piece of scum that has ever walked this earth. Whatever the fuck she said to you is a bottomless threat, I know Jane and I know that she has no real power anywhere. But Bella, you and I do. You need to wake up and see that Jane doesn't hold the cards, we do. And we're going to fucking play them and win. You just have to tell me what she said so we can make our first move."

Bella fidgets with her hands in her lap, and I can see her slowly convince herself to let me in and just tell me.

"Jane is Laura's best friend." She says in one long exhale.

Fuck.

"I now realize that they probably met in rehab," she continues, "since I know Jane had a drug issue and still does. Laura generated some story to Jane that made Jane believe I'm the spawn of Satan. She told me that when you two were together you were too high to see straight, which was probably one of her lies too, and that you left her-"

I couldn't let these words sit in me any longer, I needed complete honesty, and so did she.

"Bella, before you continue, you do have to know that what you just told me she said about my past is true. I was young, just had my big break, had a lot of shit going on, and was swimming in so much money I didn't know what the fuck to do with it. I turned to drugs and it was fucking stupid but I never became fully addicted; I just used at parties. You have to know that."

She smiles softly and I lighten when I see that it isn't forced.

"Thank you for being honest with me." She reaches over and places her hand on top of mine, squeezing it in reassurance. "And know that I trust every word you said."

"That was all I needed." I say, smiling back at her. _That went much smoother than I thought._

Before I can comprehend what's happening, her palm moves at lighting speed from my hand to my cheek. I immediately reach up and hold the spot where she slapped me; I probably had a red handprint on my cheek with how hard that was.

"What the fuck, Bella?" I shout, confused and shocked.

"There. Now you have everything you ever needed. That was for ever thinking that drugs were ever an outlet." She says, motioning to my throbbing cheek.

 _She was so much like my mother it sometimes scared me._

"Oh, please, like you were a saint." I scoff. Between being an artist in high school to touring with all these huge musicians, there was no way she hasn't dabbled in drugs before.

"Edward, this is about you, not me." She says, deflecting my comment. She was caught and she knew it.

I have been slapped more than enough, especially back when I would have at least four girls on speed dial at all times, but Bella's slap hurt like a bitch. I roll my eyes and suck up the pain, returning to how we got here.

"Jane told me she got the offer for Scarlet and took it immediately knowing you were on it. Somehow, she found out I was working for you and told Laura immediately. I spent six years running from Laura, and because Jane is a nosy bitch she found a way to get to me. Jane threatened that Laura has my location and that if I didn't stay away from you and if I didn't stop "trying to put Laura back in a psychiatric ward or in jail" that she would leak "the real story of me" to the presses and she would make sure Laura unleashes hell upon me, hurting everyone I love. The scary part is that I know that Laura is capable of doing that." Bella's face is blank, emotionless.

"I don't know what to do, Edward." She whispers.

"Hold on, rewind for a second. What story is Jane threatening to leak? Why is she saying you're trying to put Laura in jail or a psych ward?"

"Laura's a master manipulator. Whatever she told Jane made her believe I was the devil itself, and she wants to leak it to the media so they all see me that way too. I have no clue what she said, but all I know is that she got Jane to believe I'm trying to lock her up."

"So we make sure that doesn't happen." I answer matter of factly. "It's all going to be okay, Bella. I know it seems scary now, but Laura cannot touch you and I am here to promise that. You also have Angus, Rose, your parents, and whomever you may need to help us."

Bella crawls over and snuggles into my side and I feel complete again; every second of her away from me hurts.

"I love you so much, Edward."

"As I love you. I just am praying that you can see how strong you are, Bella. You made it through all of that and look at you, you're the most in-demand photographer out there. You just relived all of your childhood by telling me everything, and you're still here." I kiss her forehead.

"I was so fucking lost when I first got here. I wanted my parents, the American school system was a huge adjustment, and I had nobody. That's when my mom gave me her camera and once I fell in love with photography, I latched onto it so hard and devoted my life to it. I worked day in and day out as a waitress to afford framing for my photos, sang at open mics, sold my photos, and marketed the shit out of myself because I needed money fast. I saved and saved and saved because I needed enough money for a good security system. Once I got that, I felt so much safer. From then on, my photography took off and that's how I got here." She says referring to her house, cars, status, and lifestyle in general.

"What's your relationship with your parents now?"

"As good as it can be. I now know my mom tried her hardest, but I hated her for years because I couldn't see that back then. As for my dad, I understand. Just like my mom, it took me a long time to come to terms with that, but hiding was his coping mechanism. Plus, his dad died of suicide when he was eighteen, so I know he just couldn't watch his daughter try and do the same."

"How can you be so understanding about all of this? No anger, just acceptance?" She either was not human, the Dalai Lama, or lying if she was acting as if this didn't change her view of her parents, even today.

"I didn't use to be like this, trust me. It all really turned around when I went abroad and began conflict photography. When I lived in rural Thailand, I was faced with all these children who either didn't have parents or had parents who were never around. It was like looking in a mirror and I just, woke up. I saw these parents left their kids for fifteen hours a day on their own, or with their siblings to care for. I had so much hatred and resentment towards them for just leaving their kids to fend for themselves. But one night, I couldn't sleep, and saw the parents leaving for work. It was three in the morning. I sat there for the rest of the day, and saw them return at seven for dinner. It's like I matured right then and everything made sense; the mothers and fathers were leaving their kids not because they chose to, but because they had to. These parents were like mine. They were doing what they had to and I finally recognized that my mother and father's actions were not really a choice, but just how they were. After that, I ran to the local city to find a phone and called my parents. It was the first time I had spoken to them since I arrived in Thailand. I cried to them on the phone for hours and we finally came to an understanding that changed our relationship for the better. We've been great ever since."

"What about Angus and Rose?"

"This all made us even closer, actually. When Rose moved out here, we reunited after spending time apart and it's been the best thing to happen; we're stronger than we've ever been. Angus was all I were really all each other had since we were born, so we never separated emotionally. With Rose, she separated herself from the situation when Laura was abusing me because it was what she had to do, like my father. For awhile, I saw that as a lack of support from her and her abandoning me. Once she and I reconnected out here in LA after a couple of months of not speaking, though, we came to the understanding that we were never meaning to hurt one another and that we're on the same team"

"What about their relationships with your parents?" I ask, trying to figure out the dynamic between everyone.

"Angus never really had a broken relationship with my parents since he was separate from the situation. He wasn't abused by Laura like me and he wasn't neglected by his mom the first two years of life like Rose was, so he has no grudges with anyone. Rosalie still rides my mother and father hard on everything to this day, which is understandable. She didn't speak to my mom until I pretty much forced her to when she moved out to LA, and it had been six years since they had spoken at the time. They aren't 100% and Rose is still working everyday to learn to trust my mom, but they're improving and both working out their shit, and that's all I can ask."

"No wonder Angus is the rock of the family..." I think out loud.

"You'll see when you meet him; he's such a peaceful guy and has a really good head on his shoulders. With the situation he was born into, he rapidly developed an extremely strong level of compassion and solid ethics that he used to support us all."

"What happened in between the years Laura was taken away and you went to college?" I was trying so hard to figure out the whole story.

"Playing twenty questions now, are we?" Bella lifts an eyebrow.

I knew I should've stopped. Christ, the girl is just learning how to open up to you and now you're poking and prodding her for more.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I'm just curious, we can totally sto-"

"Edward." She stops my rambling and presses her thumb to my lips. _Since when did I start rambling?_ Oh, right. Since Bella. Since Bella I've lost any of the Edward Cullen "cool factor" I once had. She was forcing me to give a shit and I wasn't sorry about it. "It's fine." She removes her thumb from my lips.

"Once Laura left I was diagnosed with PTSD, which I still live with to this day, but it's on a smaller scale now. I worked on trying to process from what I saw those past ten years with countless therapists, became more social, hung out at school more, and wrote a shit ton of music. I had friends before and was well liked, but I never really engaged with any of them until Laura left; I turned to friends afterwards as distractions from the flashbacks and panic attacks. A few months after she was taken away, Angus and I spent a whole weekend in a tent by the beach and wrote seventeen songs. We wrote and wrote sunrise and sunset, and I remember leaving the beach and feeling like a new person. I had ridded myself of all my toxins and put it in the music. Angus and I were on such a high from the excitement of our new work that we went to our first open mic. From then on, we gained more and more attention and you know how the rest goes about having to choose school or music and I chose school and Angus chose music. I mean, look at him now; he's playing Coachella in a few months." She says almost sadly.

"Look at you, Bella." I tuck a piece of her hair away. How could she speak of Angus's success as if she regrets not perusing music? Look at where it brought her.

"Is the PTSD why you had that panic attack a few months ago?" I wonder, thinking back to the night I freaked because she didn't text me she got home and I showed up at Emmett and Rose's house freaking out that something had happened to her.

"Yes. I got in the Uber that night and the driver happened to be wearing the same perfume Laura wore everyday. It brought back so many memories and I was flooded with flashbacks, particularly one of Laura after my mom flushed her pills and she drove in a tree. I don't remember anything that happened around me during that panic attack, but apparently the Uber driver didn't know what to do, so she called 911. Then you came." She smiles thinking back to me showing up at Rose and Emmett's.

"When did Rose tell Emmett about all of this?"

"Rose's feelings towards it all are still raw, so it wasn't until right before they got engaged that she told him everything. He's been the best support she's ever had, to be honest, and I'm forever grateful for that."

I rub loose circles on her back and her breathing is steady against me. I didn't want to leave here.

"I hope you now understand why I felt it appropriate to tell Rose first, considering she is Laura's sister too. And I hope that most of all you understand that every ounce of your anger towards me was justified and recognized. I would've been pissed, too, in your position. And I know I said it but I'll say it again. I'm sorry for running and all I can ask is that you give me some patience because I'm really working on this trust thing and I was scared and didn't know where to go. But, I went somewhere I knew you could find me, because even if I couldn't show it then, I needed you so badly."

"I know, Bella. I know. You have nothing to be sorry for, my love."

How is it that a girl like this was placed into my life? The day she walked into my home was the day I knew everything changed, I just didn't want to admit it then. I distinctly remember her walking up to my window in my living room wearing those tight black jeans that I now know she's owned for years and can't live without. She was just wearing a basic tank top and jeans and her beauty amazed me. I was so stunned by her and I can still see her sitting there, staring right into me as I thought out loud and said those two words: beautifully broken. It all changed then, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I was here to protect her and show her how much I loved for her. We were a team. She was my half just as much as I was hers.

"Edward?" Bella mumbles softly.

"Hmm?" She lifts up her face from my chest and she's illuminated by the pool light and the rising sun in the distance.

"Take me home." She whispers and I gently pull her to stand up with me.

She takes a step forward, but I stop her and scoop her into my arms, walking her to the car. I lay her in the passenger seat as she drifts in and out of sleep. The whole car ride I check on her out of the inner corner of my eye and see her in a peaceful sleep. Because of the lack of traffic this early, I thankfully made it home in five minutes and walk to her side to carry her out of the car and into bed, but I am surprised to see she's awake now.

"Shh, Bella, go back to sleep." I urge her softly.

"No" I'm surprised by how alert her voice is, considering how I thought she was in a deep sleep just moments ago. "I can't sleep right now."

"Why?" I look down at her in concern.

"All I could think about when I started telling you everything was how scared I was. Each word I spoke with caution and unfamiliarity. But you stayed and listened to the whole thing so intently, despite your exhaustion from being awake for so long and the emotions of not knowing where I was. I really thought I was good at expressing my love and affection for people, but with you it's different. Since you came into my life "I love you" has become a trite expression that doesn't justify the way I feel for you, and I don't know how to tell you what I feel for you."

Tears sting at the back of my eyes. _Jesus, since when did I become a crier?_

Any time in my life that I felt lonely, abandoned, or unloved packs up and left my mind forever. All of those awful memories are gone because for as long as Bella has been on this earth, I have been loved, I just didn't know it until she walked through my front door.

"I know there aren't enough words in the English vocabulary, but I do know that I can show you how much I love you and everything you have done for me, and I plan on doing that forever unless a day comes when you don't want me to anymore."

"You and I both know that day will never come." I whisper. Bella is hanging her legs over the seat of the car facing me as I am kneeled in front of her. Our noses our inches away and we're just reading each other, being present and in the moment. Bella's hand moves to my cheek and she rubs her thumb across the top of my cheekbone. She leans down and presses her lips to mine. It had been hours since our last kiss and I don't know how I went that long without it. Her kiss was soft and gentle, but had the most passion I had ever felt.

 _She was showing me since she couldn't tell me._

I suck in a breath and stand up straight, picking up Bella as I go and wrapping her legs around my waist. Her hands are at the sides of my face as she sucks and nibbles on my bottom lip, driving me insane. I kick open the door with my foot and walk straight to my bedroom. Throwing her down on the bed, I tear off my sweater she was wearing and instantly remember how fucking hot she looked in that dress tonight. It was off the shoulder and a gorgeous royal blue chiffon with different patches of nude mesh embellishments and an open space in between her boobs.

 _That meant: no bra._

 _Mine. All mine._

In an animalistic motion, Bella's hands grab my shirt and tear it open in one fluid movement, ripping all the buttons off and leaving my exposed chest to her eyes.

That had me with my cock pressing painfully hard on my fly, staring at her like a horny twelve year old boy staring at their first porn magazine, and tearing the dress off of her into shreds.

 _Shit. I liked that dress. I'll buy her another._

She rolls her eyes at my enthusiasm but I just smirk. "Don't tear my clothes and I wont tear yours."

"We both know that's not possible." I dive back down on her, sucking on her bottom lip then licking down her neck to the center of her chest at the middle of her boobs where my favorite tattoos lays. I haven't even put her nipple near my mouth and Bella's already arching off the bed, whimpering.

 _I feel you, Babe._

I make my way to her breast painfully slowly and enclose my mouth around her nipple, causing her to let out an erotic moan.

 _Yep, I'm not lasting long._

Her hands are in my hair and I suck, nibble and flick her nipple so it's so hard it feels like a pebble in my mouth. I release it and move to go down her stomach, but she flips me over onto my back and sits up on my throbbing dick that's still trapped in my pants. She moves down upon me and sucks hard on my neck, kissing down in between my pecs and occasionally flicking out her tongue to taste me like she's done so many times before.

The bitch knows it drives me insane. Tease.

Her tongue traces around the edges of my abs I was quite proud of, to be frank, and her hands move to my belt. I look down at her as she tears off my pants and my dick springs out as she looks at it hungrily with her ass covered in black lace is pushed in the air.

 _This. Was. Heaven._

"I love everything about you, Edward." Her voice was dripping with sex.

"I love how you taste…" Her lips wrap themselves around the tip, causing my hips to buck into the air. She takes it easily, sucking and licking and occasionally dragging her teeth across my shaft because she knows it makes my hair stand up. She releases me and her mouth immediately moves to the side of my cock.

 _Jesus she was going to be the end of me. The first time we ever had sex proved that it couldn't get any better for me, yet she proved me wrong everyday when I came inside her._

"I love the way you watch me…" Her eyes meet mine, which are directed right at the girl sucking me off with nothing but pure desire in my eyes.

"But most of all, I love to watch you cum for me." That was all I needed. As if she knew it was coming, Bella's head moves with my hands, which are now moving Bella's mouth back onto my dick. My hands are in her hair as she licks and sucks until only a few seconds later I feel it. My whole body stiffens in pleasure and I feel myself slipping, which only causes Bella to move faster.

"Fuck-fuc-fu-BELLA!" I scream, cumming the hardest I ever had and she drinks up every bit. She releases my dick and moves to wipe her lips with her fingers but I stop her hand midway; I flip her over and pin her down on the bed, losing myself in her lips.

 _My taste on her mouth had to be the most erotic thing ever._

A string of moans and curses is all I need to hear to rip open her legs and plunge in deeper than I ever thought was possible. She cries out and I do the same as I begin pounding into her and she reciprocates flawlessly.

"You." I pound into her. "Will." Another time. "Never." I kiss her hard. "Understand." Another. "What." Pound. "You." She moans my name. "Do." I go harder. "To." She screams out in ecstasy. "Me." I pummel into her harder than ever and she tightens her legs around me, shouting out louder than the last each time I pushed into her.

She stops me completely and yanks my head so it's touching hers. Our foreheads are both sweaty and she stares it me so intensely it freezes my movements.

"Don't you ever say I don't understand. I would give up every possession in this world for you. I would leave everything behind for you. I would fucking kill for you, Edward Cullen."

With those words, I pull out only to slam back into her so hard I can't see straight. That was all it took for Bella and I to both cum so hard we don't speak and just make incoherent sounds. Her walls grip my dick so tightly that I feel like it could lose circulation and my dick empties out every fluid in me into her body.

Once I feel empty and Bella begins to release me, I crash down on her, unable to make any of my muscles function. I regain some control over my body and poke one eye open to see Bella catching her breath with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. I have the same one on when I pull out of her, already missing her warmth, and pull her to me. Our bodies are a tangled mess with Bella's head tucked under the crook of my neck.

"If that doesn't show you that I feel just as much as you do, then I don't know what will, to be honest." She giggles into my chest.

"Trust me, you didn't need to show me for me to know that. Although, if I tell you you need to show me for me to know, then does that mean we'll keep have this mind-blowing sex everyday until we die?" I ask. I would tell her I had a disease that could only be cured through passionate, rough sex with her if it meant she'd keep doing this to me till we died.

"You and I both know we need no excuse to have sex everyday until we die." She murmurs, chuckling against my lips.

"Touché."

Bella curls back into the crook of my neck, and after a few minutes, her breathing slows and my does as well as I feel myself drift off.

"Edward?" she whispers with a sleepy voice.

"Hmm?" I murmur, waking up out of my half-asleep state.

"I don't think I told you this, so I want you to know that you're the only person besides my therapist who I've ever told everything about myself to." She says almost timidly.

This news shocks me and makes my blood pound through my veins. My breathing hitches slightly, I feel my heart beat a bit faster, and my hand on her shoulder instinctively pulls her closer to my body.

It takes me a minute to process what she said because I was so taken back.

I couldn't find the words to use to reply to her, so I pulled her into a kiss that said it all.

 _She saw so much trust in me that the only other person she told this to is somebody legally bound by the law to not say a word about it to anybody else._ I repeat this in my head, feeling like I was going to explode into light out of pure joy, because she saw me on an equivalent level of trust as her own therapist. She truly was making strides and I was beyond proud of the courage and vulnerability she showed me tonight.

"Thank you." The two words were incredibly simple, but she knew the gravity they held on me in this situation.

As long as we had each other for the rest of our lives, we knew nothing could truly break us. With that in mind, I allow myself to drift off to sleep because tomorrow I begin to plan the destruction of Laura and Jane.

And I knew that with Bella at stake, there was no chance of me losing.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was... emotional, adorable, heartbreaking, hot... just every emotion in one chapter. I need a breather.**

 **What did you all think? Was it what you expected?**

 **If you want to reread the flashback Bella had, it's in Chapter 14: All in Due Time. The next chapter after that, Chapter 15, is a continuation of Bella's whole panic situation if you want to refer back to those.**

 **I hope things make more sense now... The way Bella is, her trust issues, her triggers, etc.**

 **REMEMBER TO READ BELOW IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY:**

 ********If there are still remaining questions, chances are I'm planning to answer them in a future chapter, but still be sure to PM them to me or leave them in a review so I make sure to answer all the ones you have in the coming chapters.********

 **ALSO IMPORTANT:**

 **I will be posting a poll on my twitter where you guys tell me more of what you want to see. I would love feedback! Once again, my handle is TheMadOnes4.**

 **I don't write sex scenes a lot, but I figured after all the overwhelming stories and emotions I would treat you guys.**

 **Also, visuals will be coming back soon. I just haven't had any for recent chapters.**

 **You're the best!**

 **Review, review, review!**

 **xx,**

 **S**


	27. One Dance

**A/N: AH! I'm back from the dead! I feel like I make excuses every time, but my hard drive failed so my computer was sent off to get worked on for over a week so I didn't have the file of this chapter and then I had finals but I promise I'm back!** **I'll be at music festivals for the next 2 weeks, but I wanted to get this up before I left tomorrow morning.**

 **When I did the polls of what you all wanted to see, you said you wanted to learn more about Edward's friends and you wanted more everyday life/banter, so I devoted this chapter to just that, while also moving the story along.** **Since nothing major is going on, this is on the shorter side but does set up what's to come.**

 **Visuals are back!** **This chapter doesn't have a lot, but make sure to check them out. You'll see awkward 14 year old Edward's headshot ;) There will be tons coming up with the next chapters so get excited!**

 **If there are a good amount of reviews for this chapter, I'll write on the way to the festival tomorrow and get another chapter up soon! I love you guys, but you've been slacking on the reviews and it leaves me totally unmotivated, so make sure to leave some for me so I can be inspired and write more. Also, make requests! I love hearing your suggestions.**

 **If there are enough consistent reviews, I can return back to posting on a weekly basis! Who doesn't want that?**

 **Make sure to share this story, take a peek at the visuals, leave a review, and enjoy!**

 **xx,**

 **S**

* * *

BPOV

I lift open my resting eyes when I feel Edward step in the room. He's in his black adidas pants and no shirt, which I'm starting to think might as well be his standard uniform. A small, almost relieved, smile crosses his face when he sees me that covers my whole body in nothing but warmth and comfort.

"I thought you'd be needing some of this right about now." The familiar, intoxicating smell of cinnamon and vanilla hits me and my eyes jump to the plate in his hands hungrily. "You didn't." I blurt out, about ready to fight a whole army just to get my hands on his mom's French toast. "Oh, but I did." He lays the plate of heavenly goodness on my lap and crawls back in bed with his own plate. Sitting in bed with nothing but white sheets covering me, the most orgasmic French toast on the planet, and Edward by my side has fully convinced me that life can't get any better than this. I stuff my whole mouth with a forkful of French toast and let out the most ridiculous moan. Edward is chuckling at my side, watching me practically eat my whole body weight in breakfast.

"What? I'm starving and it's your mom's French toast. Don't judge me." This only causes him to laugh harder and for me to just roll me eyes. "I'm just thinking about how the first time I made this for you was one of the first times we slept together and you just about cried tears of joy when you ate it." I hadn't realized the significance until now, and I vividly remember that morning; we talked about his parents and the simplicity of life. That morning was something I cherish to this day, and it's bizarre to think that this was just about 2 months ago when it feels like I've been with him as long as I know.

"Thank you," I say quietly, pressing my lips to his. "and good morning."

"There's nothing to thank me for, the biggest gift you could have ever gave me was waking up to you rested and happy. I spoke to Angus this morning, as well, so he knows you're okay and told him the basics of what happened. He said for you to call him when you can." He kisses my shoulder.

After revealing my whole self to Edward last night, I expected to feel scared and overwhelmed, but I have felt nothing but light.

"It's weird. I was so beyond frightened to tell you everything. I remember when I started to think I had feelings for you, I denied everything because I knew I couldn't get involved. I thought that you would either figure out everything about me and get scared and run or I would have to lie to you and I couldn't take either of those."

Edward looks at me in amazement, but confusion. "How could you ever think that?"

"You have to understand, Edward, people aren't like you. They aren't patient and they just can't understand. Most guys I even got close to would run because they thought I was absolutely crazy when I would panic after an alarm went off or I saw someone who looks like Laura, that's why I never have told anybody about what happened besides you. I expected to feel overwhelmed and knew there was a chance things would be weird after all of this, but I feel the lightest and most comfortable I have in awhile."

He kisses me softly and I move to rest my head on his chest, which is quickly becoming the only position I can sleep in.

"What do you say to getting some of the crew over in a few hours and having a night in?" Edward asks.

"That sounds like exactly what I need," I stretch and flop back down on Edward. "I plan on ignoring every project I have to start editing." I needed to start my work desperately, but that isn't a possibility now that Edward's next to me and our friends are coming over.

"It's okay, I have about a year's worth of script reading to do and haven't even looked at it." He and I both start chuckling at the fact we have an overload of work yet are still in bed at noon.

"Call James, Mike, and Jessica over." I say while posting a photo I took of Edward at the wrap party to his Instagram.

"I'll see what they're doing." Not without hesitation, Edward and I roll out of bed. I get up first, walking ass naked to his closet to grab something to throw on. The guttural groan that comes from behind me reminds me that this was not the best time to do that. I've always been very comfortable and open with my body so it's natural for me to walk around naked. This always ends up with Edward on top of me, but now was not the time because it already was hard enough to get him out of bed; sex didn't need to be added.

I see him pop out of bed and run to grab me, but I lock myself in the closet so I can get dressed without being ravished. Not that I would mind, though.

"Oh, come on!" Edward shouts. I have an amused smile on as I shout from the other side of the door, throwing on a loose crop top and sweatpants. "Sorry, babe, but I think 14 hours is enough time to spend in bed."

"You're the worst." He whines like a little boy.

I open the door to see him with a devastated pout and his arms crossed.

"Come on, let's get these dishes done." I walk right past him in hopes that he'll let it go, but it's Edward we're talking about so he doesn't. He grabs my arm and pulls me flush against him, kissing me so hard my back is arched. He grabs my ass before biting my bottom lip, causing me to moan. "There. That will hold me off… For now." We grab our dishes and I plug in some music before moving to help him clean in the kitchen.

I grab the dish towel and begin drying as Edward washes. We're dancing along to One Dance by Drake that's blasting through the speakers in the wall. I almost drop the plate in my hand from laughing so hard when Edward begins twerking and is actually amazing at it. From all the dancing, Edward and I finish in minutes, just after Mike, Jessica, and James walk through the door.

"Aaaaaand this is when we leave" James interjects, turning on his heels right out the door when he sees Edward and I dancing purposely obnoxiously. Mike looks disgustedly as if he is watching raccoon sex and Jessica has a similar look with an amused smile. "What, do you not appreciate my moves?" I remark, terribly moon-walking with awkward hip thrusts towards them, probably looking like there was a terrible itch on my ass that I couldn't scratch. James breaks into a laugh when he knows he can't hold in anymore as Edward comes up behind me, us both dancing like Elaine in that one episode of Seinfeld.

"You're both ridiculous." they jest, walking to place the food and drinks they brought to the kitchen.

"I prefer the term quirky." Edward quips, placing the last plate back in the cupboard.

"Whatever- the fact of the matter is that we're watching The Sunrise and you can't do shit about it." Jessica confirms, walking over to the TV.

"Fuck no." Edward's eyes widen in fear and protest

"What do you mean? It's the afternoon." I question, confused as to why they thought we could watch the sunrise right now.

"The Sunrise is actually a film our little boy Eddie did right at his prime, isn't the right good ol' brother of mine?" Mike chides with an amused smile.

"I was fourteen give me a break!" Edward shouts, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Fourteen or not, this shit is too good." Jessica yells from the TV, taking a step back after hitting play.

All of the coffee I had just sipped flies across the room when I see an awkward teenage scrawny boy with a hideous middle part and bowl cut come across the screen. If it hadn't been for the eyes, I would've never believed it actually was the man standing beside me.

"Fucking shit." Edward sighs, rubbing his hands over his face in embarrassment. Mike's laughing so hard he's clutching his stomach and James is imitating Edward perfectly on the screen which is only causing them to laugh harder.

My jaw is still dropped at the sight in front of me until Jessica's head hits my shoulder as she tries to catch her breath from laughing so hard. All my efforts of holding it in go out the window and I burst into laughter with them. I'm trying to spit out an apology to a sullen and embarrassed looking Edward, but every time I start I burst into laughter again.

Edward gives us all a fuck you look, still ignoring us all and giving us the silent treatment, and stomps out the door to the pool. I follow him out, having caught enough breath to move, and attempt to stop him in his tracks by wrapping my arms around his waist and refusing to move.

"I'm-I'm sorry, babe, it's just so-" All I can muster out is I'm sorry in between my giggling fit and am placing kisses on his chest, begging for forgiveness from laughing at him. "It's just, you were so adorably awkward and dorky and I love it-" I say clinging on to him. I gaze up at him with pleading eyes, but his hands are still on his hips stubbornly and he's still giving me the silent treatment. I stare at the very slightly upturned corners of his mouth, giving away that he actually thought some of this shit was funny himself.

"Laugh all you want, Newton, at least I hit puberty." Edward yells over to Mike with a smirk. Mike goes from pissing himself from laughter to a completely straight, annoyed face. This only causes James to laugh harder, and even Jessica to try and hide a giggle that slipped out as Mike shoots her a look. It was true, there was a part of Mike Newton that was quite boyish. His face had quite young features and his body was quite lanky, especially when standing next to James or Edward who are both over 6ft and muscular with strong masculine facial features.

"I can't believe I call you all my friends." Mike whines, flopping on the couch inside.

Once the laughter subsides, light conversation ensues and I am suddenly extremely comfortable with Edward's friends. They can appear quite intimidating at first glance, especially because they're quite protective over Edward, but once you speak to them one on one you see they're strikingly kind and passionate. I learned about James and his career as a soccer player, and how he and Edward met when they were put on the same league before Edward starting acting years ago. Edward quit soon after that to pursue acting and James continued on, making it to the American team a year and a half ago. The light in his eyes when he spoke about soccer was just the same as Edward's when he talks about acting.

Mike blazed on passionately about his career as a writer for the sports section of The Los Angeles Times and how he met Edward and James. He was doing a piece on James' career a few years back and he and James hit it off during the interview and got drinks afterward, and Edward joined them. They hung out again after that and right around then is when Mike fell in love with Jessica, who works in editing for The LA Times.

Funnily enough, I discovered that Mike and I had many mutual friends from the ties of the journalism and photojournalism world. He even realized that he knew my photos back when I was a war photographer and publishing for multiple magazines and newspapers, but didn't make the connection that they were my photos until then.

"Please tell me that the guys of LANY are as cool as I think they are." Mike questions excitedly.

Once we got on the topic of music, James, Mike, and Jessica been asking me about probably every band that has ever existed and if I know them. If they're like this with me, simply a photographer for musicians and actors, I can't imagine what they were like when they first met Edward, who probably knows four times the amount if people I do.

"The Neighbourhood?"

"I talk to Jesse on a weekly basis. They're like brothers to me."

"What about The Chainsmokers?" James asks

"Shot them once and met them for about five minutes. Got a weird vibe from them, to be honest."

"Lorde?"

"Total sweetheart."

The knot in my stomach begins to tighten as they question more and more. All the artists they had asked about were either fans or friends of The 1975, and I do not want them to ask about the boys and have me have to explain how I am connected to that band without telling Edward first. That conversation had to happen soon, though, because yesterday morning I got a call from Jamie, their manager and longtime friend of mine, letting me know they'll need me to shoot a couple of shows within the next few months.

Since Matty and I separated, we've been able to stay friends, although there always will be some weirdness. When we decided to part ways, we both agreed that my connection to the whole band and crew, Matty included, was too precious to throw away, so we agreed that I would still shoot them when they needed me and that we would try and be as "normal" as possible. I'm quite lucky because we've been able to accomplish this for the most part, and we've been on good terms.

Before I had Edward, I of course would flinch slightly when I saw Matty bring a girl on the tour bus or backstage. But with Edward, I am fulfilled in every way imaginable. Since meeting him, I now truly think that if you are really in love with someone, it shouldn't be hard to watch someone you once loved move on. So, when Jamie called me and let me know that they'll need me for a few dates here and there, I had to hesitate. This was a totally normal thing for me to accept, but now that Edward's in my life, these things become much more complicated. As much as I know that absolutely nothing will ever happen between Matty and I ever again and that we both are, and always will be, simply friends, that doesn't mean that Edward will understand. All I have to do is hope that he will see this as what I see it as: a strictly business offer from a band that I've had a lot of history with.

"How's it been going with you two?" Jessica questions, steering the conversation away from bands. _Thank god._

"Well, we smash on an hourly basis and hire a stripper for a threesome on the reg, so pretty damn good. Herpes and STDs haven't came close to stopping us." Edward deadpans at a shocked James, Mike, and Jessica. I roll my eyes at his ridiculously vulgar sarcasm that I'm beginning to realize is Edward's second language.

"You're disgusting," Jessica remarks, her and I both shaking our head at Edward.

"I'm confident that even when you're a hundred and your most exciting activity is cleaning your dentures, you'll still be a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch." James says, chuckling.

"In all seriousness, between us, it's amazing," Edward starts, "but the reality is that it will never be "easy" for the two of us. We've both felt a million pounds leave our shoulders since telling you all about our relationship, but it still is hard to have to tiptoe just to see each other and go in separate cars and disguises to do simple daily activities."

"Why don't you guys just go public, then?" Mike adds in. "That's no way for anyone to live."

Edward and I shoot quick glances at each other, our expressions matching. We both knew that none of this was simple.

"Because Bella and I both see the negatives of going public outweighing the positives right now. Bella and I are still learning and adjusting, and we don't need public scrutiny and opinion to make it any more complicated than it already is. Also, when we do tell people someday, Bella's life will completely change and even the simplest of acts will have to be adjusted and most likely complicated; I'm not letting any of that happen until she's ready for it and comfortable, and if that time never comes and we have to hide this till we die, then so be it." The corner of my mouth tugs up as I watch Edward so clearly show how protective he is of me and my own feelings about all of this.

"So until then?" Jessica responds

"So until then we continue doing what we've been doing and spending time together with the people who we love and are aware of our relationship, and try our best to protect each other from the media." I answer, reaching to rub my hand over Edward's and giving it a squeeze.

"Speaking of spending time with people you love, what's the plan for Thanksgiving?" James inquires.

I look at Edward for an answer, because I didn't know Edward had told them he was going to Australia yet.

"Shit, I forgot to tell you," Edward says, turning to me. "Every year we always have a "friendsgiving" the day after Thanksgiving and they all fly out to wherever our family Thanksgiving is taking place that year and we have a mini vacation, so they'll be joining us this trip. Since we'll be there, all your friends can come and this year it can be a huge gathering."

"Really?" I turn excitedly to Lauren, James, and Mike. It's a good thing that I love Edward's friends, because if I didn't I would've been pissed that he didn't invite them without asking me.

"Well, yeah, as long as you tell us where this year's destination is." James pushes, anxious to find out.

"You, my friends, and I going to be heading to my hometown in Byron Bay, Australia and running with my people for a change. You bitches are getting Aussie-fied." I announce

"Hell yes." James and Mike high five. "I'll have to whip out my boomerang and pet kangaroo." James says in a butchered Australian accent.

"As long as there's a beach, I'm thrilled." Jessica states

"Byron is said to have some of the best beaches in the world and my place is ten feet away from the best one." I respond and Jessica claps excitedly.

"You'll get to meet my brother and my whole crew there as well and knowing you three and them, you might never want to leave each other." I continue.

"We'll be there, then." Mike responds with a smile, standing up.

The boys say goodbye and get into a soccer conversation while Jessica and I discuss Byron Bay and our upcoming trip. It was crazy to think that it was less than month away and that Halloween was in two days.

Jessica and I work on pulling the boys out of their heated debate about some soccer league or something like pulling a kid away from Disneyland. I finally say goodbye one last time and get them out the door, but Edward continues to mumble on in frustration about whatever they were talking about in the sports world.

"If I didn't know you I would think you're a maniac talking to himself."

"I wouldn't be mumbling to myself if I wasn't friends with such idiots who think that drafting Smith to Arsenal wasn't the stupidest decision that team could've ever made." Edward yells out, wound up about this team called Arsenal. He lets out a grunt and moves to start spraying down the kitchen counter we had cleaned a few hours ago and haven't touched since with Windex. A trait of Edward that was becoming very apparent is that when he's frustrated, he cleans.

"Babe," I reach over tentatively, like reaching my hand over to pet a scary-looking dog, and take the Windex from his hand. "I'm sure that drafting Smith was a stupid move and you're upset that your friends don't agree with you, but it isn't the end of the world." It was kind adorable how he turns all pouty when stuff like this with soccer happens. It sure as hell was funny to observe the juxtaposition of a muscular, tall, masculine guy like Edward slumping around and pouting over a soccer team.

"Whatever, I'm going to distract myself and go for a swim, and you're joining me." He plants a kiss on my cheek and moves to go change into his swim shorts. A swim sounds quite nice, so I follow after texting Angus back and telling him I'll call him when I'm free and put on my bikini. Right after I hit send, a text from Jamie Oborne pops up. "Call me when you can, will need an answer for the shows pretty soon and will send you all the dates and locations. Some in Australia but I'm sure you'll be able to come since you have your place there. Can't wait to be back on tour with you dear, even if it's for a few days. The kids say hi. Xx, Jamie."

Well shit. When Jamie called, I was very vague and kinda-sorta lied about why I wasn't sure if I could do the dates for them. I said I might have some conflicts, which isn't a lie, then told him I had to go because I had to get back to set because I was on a shoot… I was cooking Edward breakfast when I said that. I had to talk to Edward some time, but for now all I wanted to do was go for a swim with the man I love.

I shift through my massive amounts of bikini tops and bottoms until I find one. It was funny how in Byron people stare at you if you aren't wearing some kind of swim apparel. Since it's such a surfer beach town, most guys don't own a shirt and girls have more bikinis than clothes in total. I miss the days when everyday all I wore was a bikini top, shorts, and bare feet and wouldn't be stared at or told I need shoes to enter a store. Sometimes Australia and America were so completely different.

I slide open the glass door to the pool and see Edward underwater, swimming toward me. I move over to the edge of the pool and he breaks the surface, grabs my ankles within an instant, and pulls me in right with him.

* * *

 **A/N: Review, review, review!**

 **xxxxx**


	28. All Hallows Eve

**A/N: Hi hi hi! After weeks of non-stop concerts, festivals, and gatherings with friends, I'm back and in need of some sleep.**

 **But, along my travels, I continued to write and threw this chapter together for you all :) Thanks to your amazing reviews, I wrote any time I was free and was able to get this up way sooner than I thought I would be able to because of the sweet notes you left.**

 **It's Halloween for these fools, and I think you guys will enjoy this chapter. It's lighthearted, full of banter, and your favorite friend crew is together. Plus, I think you'll enjoy some of the costume choices.**

 **Visuals are posted for this chapter! I don't have all of the costumes, but I do have Edward & Bella's posted.**

 **I'm going to shut up now and let you get reading.**

 **Dig in!**

 **xx**

* * *

EPOV

"Whaddya think?" My eyes double in size as Bella spins out of her bedroom in a soccer jersey, skin-tight Nike shorts that could qualify as underwear, and a ponytail on her head with two black stripes on her cheekbones, knee high socks, and sneakers. She made me want to scoop her up in a hug for being adorable while also wanting to fuck the shit out of her for being so damn sexy.

"I now demand that you only wear this when you are around me till the end of our days." I state blankly, completely entranced by her.

It was Halloween and we were getting ready for Alice's yearly Halloween bash. We both decided to go as each other's hobbies, so she's going as a soccer player and I'm going as a surfer. We wanted to do a couples costume, but we also knew that other people who don't know about us would be there and we didn't want to make it obvious that we were together.

"Your turn, get in there and strip down." Bella commands, pushing me towards the bedroom to change, but not before me pushing her against the wall and kissing her till she's breathless.

I stand behind the door and throw on the swim shorts she chose for me, slip on my new "Stoked" t-shirt, and tie the shark tooth necklace she got for me around my neck. I check myself out in the mirror and I have to admit I could get used to this surfer wear; I don't look bad and it is all really comfortable. I step outside to show Bella and to get her to put the sea-salt surf hairspray she got me to make my hair look like I just got out of the ocean.

"Open your eyes" I tell her

"Oh my gosh YES" She blurts out, her eyes wide like mine were when she showed me her costume.

"I'm going to keep this stuff; it's mad comfortable." I remark, and she grabs my hand and pulls me to her kitchen counter. She hops up on the edge and sits on the counter as I stand between her legs, my hands running up and down her fully exposed legs. She fiddles around in her bag and pulls out something called surf paste and begins working it through my hair, shaping it in every which way. The whole time I'm watching her work, looking at her green eyes concentrate on my hair, even noticing that just the tip of her tongue pokes out of the corner of her mouth when she's focused.

"Perfect." She says, pulling her hands away with a proud smile. I turn and look at myself in the mirror and am pleasantly surprised. My hair is as messy as it normally is, but it looks more effortless and has lots of texture.

"Nice look, dude" Jake comments, coming down the stairs from his room on the other end of the house. Since I've spent loads of time at Bella's, Jake and I have gotten close and I now see why Bella would want him around; he's incredibly dependable and a really good friend to have. Plus, when I'm on business or working late, it gives me a sense of comfort to know Bella isn't alone in this huge house.

"I just put on what the boss told me to." I answer, motioning back at Bella.

"Pele, can I get a picture?" Jake shouts over to Bella who's at the sink washing the surf paste off her hands. Bella giggles and nudges him in the arm then heads over and pulls a board off the rack by her door.

"Here."

"I love you but I'm not going to carry this thing around the whole night." I state

"Don't worry that pretty head of yours, it's just for a picture." She responds, looking up at me through her lashes.

"Bella Swan, are you asking to get a picture with Edward Cullen?" I tease, an amused smile crossing my face.

She flushes pink for a second and turns away, handing her phone to Jake.

"Jake, can you take a picture?" Bella asks, ignoring that I had totally caught her.

"You totally are a fangirl undercover." I chuckle, wrapping my arm around her waist and positioning her board against my hip.

"Shut up and smile, Cullen." I am smiling for the picture for a second before completely jumping and thrusting my hips forward, yelping, when Bella pinches my ass.

"What the hell?" I yell, rubbing my ass right where she pinched it.

"Did you get it?" Bella asks Jake animatedly, walking over to him as he's clutching his stomach in laughter. Bella takes the phone and looks at the screen before she bursts into laughter alongside Jake, even letting out ridiculous snorts from laughing so hard.

I march over and grab the phone from the ground since Bella dropped it from laughing so hard. Even though I was still mad about my ass being completely attacked, I laughed as well when I saw the picture. Bella looks completely normal, besides the devilish look in her eyes, and then there's me who's in mid air, my ass cheeks clenched together in pain with my hand on my ass, and a terrified look on my face.

"I'll admit, that's pretty fucking good." I hand the phone back to Jake, wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes.

"Come on Sparky, we have a party to get to." Bella and Jake high five in accomplishment as Bella sends the picture to Jake, leaving me standing by the door tapping my foot impatiently. Bella finally jumps in her car and I get in mine and I head towards Alice's as I watch Bella sit in her car and wait ten minutes until she can leave.

It was beyond frustrating to have to take separate cars and leave ten minutes apart all the time in order to seem as detached from each other as possible, but it was what we had to do for now. I pull up to Alice's apartment building and immediately roll my eyes at my sister. Every year, she throws this party and calls it a "small gathering", yet she hires valet and catering and typically hundreds of people will show up. I was always the more introverted sibling, while Alice can be social for hours and never get exhausted. I'm in the elevator up to the penthouse and already have spotted multiple people who I know are journalists that Alice must know somehow.

I take a breath of relief internally when I remember that Bella and I left ten minutes apart so nothing will look suspicious. The elevator opens to Alice's tastefully decorated apartment. I remember when her and Jasper bought the penthouse Jasper stayed at my place for two days because he was so terrified of crossing her while she's decorating. Once my sister is focused, anything or anyone who steps in her way or distracts her is dead.

I spot Alice across the room dressed as a fairy, which is perfectly fitting, and begin to make my way over to say hi and hopefully find Jasper, but that takes much longer than it should due to people stopping me and saying we "hung out at that one party" even though I have no clue who they are. I love these parties, but I would much rather just have a real gathering of friends that really do know me instead of something like this where people, writers, and producers are stopping me every which way asking for something, whether it be a picture or for me to read that script to the movie they're producing.

As if I'm breaking the surface of water, I reach Alice who's chatting away about her upcoming collection to a group of people. She catches my eye and pulls me into a huge hug, unfortunately drawing eyes to me and a pack of girls shifting to my side of the room.

"Stop it." She says, taking a step back and looking my costume up and down. Her eyes meet mine with a questioning look, as if she's asking as if my costume was me dressing up as Bella.

"Just wait till you see her." I respond, throwing a wink and heading to the bar to grab a drink.

"Scotch and Manh-" I snap my mouth shut when I remember that I'm in public and I can't be myself right now. Even ordering a drink and handing it to Bella could ignite a media frenzy.

The bartender looks at me in confusion.

"Sorry, just a scotch." I respond with a bit of sadness clouding my head.

"Bella!" I hear Alice squeak from behind me. The fairy runs over and practically tackles Bella.

I reluctantly turn my head away from her, careful to not look like I'm staring.

I reach for my scotch from the bartender and notice that he has it in his hand, but is completely distracted and doesn't even realize I'm there. I follow his line of sight and see that his eyes are glued on _my_ Bella's ass in the tight Nike shorts. I let out a growl and reach over the bar, snatching the drink from his hand. All I want to do is walk straight over and kiss Bella with a middle finger directed right that the asshole's face.

"Control yourself, brother." My head whips around to look at Emmett dressed as a Hawaiian tourist: flower shirt, lei, straw hat, typical dad mustache, Zinc on the nose, fanny pac, the whole package. I can't hold my laughter in as I look him up and down. "Genius costume." I remark, clinking his beer bottle.

"I had to stop over here because if I didn't know the real reason why you looked like you were going to kill that bartender, I would've thought he had crashed your car or something." Emmett chuckles

"I'm a tad posessive, ok." I say, defending myself.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I'm glad your protective over my lil sis."

"No way." I blurt out as my head whips over to the familiar blonde approaching us.

"Sorry, Cullen, but Em and my costumes crush yours and Bella's." I practically choke on my drink when Emmett and Rose stand together. Emmett, as a Hawaiian tourist, and Rose, as a full on NYC tourist. She has a NY shirt, mom jeans straight from the '80s, fanny pack, Chacos, camera around her neck, bucket hat, and new balance sneakers with her socks pulled up her calves.

"Alright, you win." Remarks Alice, walking over to observe Em and Rose's costume along side me

I spot Bella out of the corner of my eye, staring at Emmett and Rose with her hand covering her mouth in shock.

"This is what creative genius looks like, lil sis." Rose brags, striking another pose with Emmett. Bella approaches giggling behind her hand.

"Wow."

"It's normal, Bells. Jealousy is a very typical reaction when you see these outfits." Emmett chides, throwing his arm around her shoulder.

"Oh my gosh, hey stranger." Bella turns to me, with actually a very convincing look of surprise on her face.

I match the look on her face and try and give her the most "we're just acquaintances" hug I can make possible.

"How've you been?" She asks. She actually was a pretty damn good actress. If I were watching our encounter like every reporter is right now, I would think we were simply two people that haven't seen each other in awhile.

"I still have some leftover pictures from the Scarlet set so I'll send those over to Riley." Bella states casually, making sure that the reporters who are quite obviously listening in think Bella and I know each other strictly through work.

"Yeah that would be awesome. It was great seeing you, Bella." I say with as little emotion as I can muster.

"You as well." She waves as I walk away with Rose and Emmett.

 **BPOV**

I turn away from Edward and find Riley dressed as Indiana Jones walking over.

"Well that was weird." I say quietly to Riley about Edward and I's staged conversation.

"You did well though, I watched and most of the reporters lost interest once they heard you guys were just work acquaintances."

Before I know what's happening, Riley and I are jerked forward and being pulled through the party by a caveman and cavewoman. Riley and I shoot suspicious, panicked glances and are about to tear our wrists from their grip before I hear a familiar voice. The cave people turn around and I see its Jessica and Mike pulling us towards a staircase.

"Jeez, we thought you were psycho cavemen killers." Riley shouts over to them. Once the door to the stairwell shuts behind us and the volume and chaos of the crowd is muffled, they turn and give us hugs hello.

"Come on, they're waiting for us," Jessica chides as she pulls Riley and I up the stairs.

"Who is?" Riley questions

"Alice, Jasper, Edward, James, Emmett, and Rose are all up on the roof. We got tired of the party, so Alice brought a few bottles of wine and some blankets up here" Mike explains

"So Alice ditched her own party?" I ask

"Pretty much, yeah." Jessica answers.

 _Classic Alice._

Mike pushes open the large door with bold red letters that spell "ROOF ACCESS- NO TRESPASSING"

Ignoring the sign, we round the corner to find everyone sitting on the ground with blankets, candles to provide some light, and drinks.

"I found the two stragglers," Mike announces

I find my seat right on Edward's lap and kiss him hello

"I've missed you." He whispers against my lips.

"Me too." I say back. Even though we just physically saw each other, I wasn't seeing the real Edward that I know.

"Alice, aren't you the tiniest bit concerned that there are hundreds of people having a party in your house and you're not there?" Riley prods

She pauses for a moment before stating matter of factly "nope."

"Atta girl." I clink my glass with hers

"Okay" Alice pipes, grabbing a bottle. "It's time for never have I ever." She announces, placing a bottle of Jack in the center of all of us.

Fuck.

I don't consider myself as wild now that I'm a bit older, but that doesn't apply to my earlier years. Sure, I still drink and smoke weed and skinny dip and do the things that most people classify as being "wild", but now I would call myself free spirited, but a few years back I will admit I was wild.

My point is that whenever I play "never have I ever", I'm always the first one drunk.

"Oh god." I mumble when I think about the revelations about the old, wild Bella that are about to come out.

"What?" Edward asks

"Nothing, it's just you have to know that I was a bit wild back in the day and that the only way I will play this is if we agree this is a judgement free zone." I plead

"Babe, I don't think you ever stopped being wild." Edward states as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright, let's just start this thing." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Jaz, you start." Alice chimes, clapping her hands in anticipation.

Jaz looked adorable in his cowboy costume holding a beer.

"Never have I ever been in handcuffs for non-sexual purposes." He states

Fuck.

I take a drink, along with James.

I hear Alice gasp and Rose snicker.

"James, I'm not surprised about, but you, Bella?" Jaspers says with surprise In his voice.

My eyes lift immediately to Rose who's hiding her laugh in her drink and Emmett who's smiling like an idiot. _Fuckers._

"Let's just say this one was visiting in America and didn't realize that there's a law here against public nudity and went on a feminist rant about freeing the nipple to a cop who was not having it and he put her in handcuffs. While topless, may I add. Funniest shit I've ever seen." She blurts out through giggles

"You ass! You were supposed to help me but you just sat there and laughed and now you tell everyone about it years later?" I shout, but it's pointless because Rose is laughing so hard with Emmett that she can't even hear me.

"Is that true?" Edward looks as me with an amused smile.

"Alright, moving on. It's a stupid law anyways that I could rant about forever but I'm not in the mood." I shout, passing the bottle.

"Aright, Rosie the Riveter." I slap Edward in the arm who's still laughing at me.

"Alice, your go." I announce.

"Okay." She bounces in excitement.

"Never have I ever had a crush on my boyfriend or girlfriend's sibling"

I was actually safe on this one, but my eyes widen when I see Edward reach for the bottle.

"I KNEW IT" My eyes dart to Rose who jumps up with her hands in the air.

It takes me a second to process the joke before I break into laughter, Edward chokes on his drink, and Emmett's mock-screaming at Edward.

"Sorry, babe, but I've only been with you to get to Rose." Edward plays along.

"Come on, honey, let's get out of here." Rose jokes

"Wait hold one second," Alice interjects, turning to Edward "in all seriousness, who are you talking about?"

"My seventh grade girlfriend, Kate, had a hot twin sister," Edward explains. "Okay, your go, Jess."

She presses her palms to her lips in question before her face lights up.

"Okay- I got it- never have I ever kissed someone of the same sex." She announces

"What?" I shout probably a bit too loud than necessary.

I mean she had to be joking, right? I remember being out with girlfriends and all being at the point of drunkenness where we can't stop saying "I love you" to each other and planting kisses on each other. It wasn't a romantic thing, but just something we did. Kissing is an expression of love, and some parts of society instills the belief that kissing someone is the seal of one's sexuality, but it's not.

Even Alice reaches for the bottle and has the same look of surprise that I have.

"Bells, not everyone is wild like you." Jessica defends

"Kissing girls isn't wild, it something that a lot of people do. See, even Alice and Rose have. You're telling me that you haven't kissed one of your girlfriends goodbye or been a bit tipsy and kissed a girl?"

"Yeah, no, I guess I haven't." She responds.

"C'mere." I command, lifting to my knees.

"What?" Her face contorts in confusion.

"You're going to kiss me." I say matter of factly.

"Wha-?" Before she can continue, I roll my eyes, grab the back of her neck, and plant a kiss on her lips.

"There." I say, and pull back. Alice is filming the whole thing, Jessica's eyes are wide in shock, Rose is chuckling at Jessica, and Riley, Emmett, Jasper, James, Mike, and Edward look as though four Playboy models just stuck their tits in their face.

"That was so hot" Mike shouts out of nowhere, causing Jessica and I to break into giggles.

"Alright, calm your tits, it's Mike's turn."

Mike tries to pull himself together, but is still a stuttering mess from watching Jess and I kiss.

 _I'll never understand why girls kissing never fails to turn guys on._

"Um-shit-um never have I ever had sex on an airplane."

Well, there's another shot for me.

I've had to have sex on pretty much every mode of transportation since when I toured with Matty, we never stopped moving city to city every night.

"I hope you know that's the first thing on the schedule for our Australia trip." Edward whispers in my ear, taking the bottle from me and taking a shot as well.

I smile to myself in anticipation.

We continue on with this game full of surprises, revelations, and judgmental stares until we rejoin the party as it comes to a close. As expected, I had to drink the most.

Edward and I were both exhausted, so he made a quick exit after saying goodbye to everyone. We were all having breakfast together within the next few days to go over the plans for the Australia trip, so we were going to be reunited soon. After about ten minutes, I slip out after saying my goodbyes and head towards my house, where I knew Edward was waiting for me. Right as I'm about to pull in the driveway and run to the house to jump in Edward's arms, the shrill sound of my phone ringing interrupts my music.

"Hello, sir," I say to the familiar voice of my brother on the other end of the line that never fails to comfort me like a blanket on a cold day.

"Hi, missy. Is it just you right now?" He asks

"Yes, why?" Angus and I are generally open people and therefore don't really have any conversations that need to be private, so this was out of character for us.

"I just talked to Max." He states.

"As in our old producer, Max?" He produced our whole album and we pretty much owe any of our success to him; he's the one who believed in us and got Angus and I to be as big as we were in Australia. I haven't spoken to him since I announced I was going to California and that Angus was going solo. He was heartbroken, but he understood.

"Yes, and he said that he just got a huge offer to open for Fleetwood Mac's Australia leg of the tour and he wants us to do it. Together."

Well.

Shit.

I go silent for an hour, maybe, I don't know. Visions of me dancing around my bedroom as a little girl singing through the whole Rumours albums with my hairbrush for hours everyday flash through my head. I then remember growing up and saying the one person I would kill to meet would be Stevie Nicks. This dream then progressed into one huge lifelong dream of opening and playing with Fleetwood Mac.

And the opportunity was in my hands.

Bella a few months ago would've accepted in a heartbeat, but things were different now.

Aside from now sharing my heart with another human and working for that person, I also have copious of commitments and shoots every week and I don't know if I can hold all that off for however long I would need to be on tour.

"I know this is probably scary to you since you have Edward in your life now, but it would just be two weeks long and it starts after Thanksgiving, so Edward would be in Australia already when the tour starts. He, his friends, and his family could even come to a few shows. Come on, Bells. We can't give something like this up."

I knew he was right.

I needed to do this, but I really have no clue how Edward will take it. About 90% of me believes that he'll be supportive, but I know that he's very protective over me and that there's a 10% chance he won't want me to go.

Plus, I had the whole The 1975 issue I had to get figured out before midnight tomorrow, and I have absolutely no clue how Edward will take it. The good thing, though, is that the shows take place right before Thanksgiving so Edward would be with me when I had to shoot their shows, so I'm praying that will ease his anxiety knowing that he can be with me the whole time.

"It's just so complicated." I say softly in defeat

"Why? Edward will understand completely, if that's what you're worried about. And to be honest, Bells, he knows how big this is for you, so if he says you can't do this then he isn't the guy I thought he was."

"It's just, I got a call from Jamie and he asked me to do the boys' Australia leg of the tour before Thanksgiving and I haven't given him an answer." I confess

"Why haven't you? You shoot them all the time and you've seen them a bunch since you and Matty have broken up and it's never been weird. You've both moved on, so what's the issue?" Angus says as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

"Angus. I have Edward now." I state the obvious.

"Edward…" He says to himself, realizing my dilemma.

"Yeah. And I don't really know how to explain that nothing is going on anymore and that they're my friends who I help out by photographing their shows whenever I'm available." I say. This whole issue has been eating at me and I have no clue how I'm going to explain this all to Edward.

"Calm down, take a breath." He soothes, noticing my stress. "Just explain to him the situation and reassure him that he will be in Australia at the times of the shows so he can come to every show if he really wants to and make sure you're there for the reasons you say you are. Also, tell him to call me. I know and absolutely trust that you would never be unfaithful- I hear the way you speak about Edward- but I know that as a male it can be hard to trust that. I also know Matty quite well and know that he's the kind of guy who wouldn't make moves if he knew you were with someone else. I'll talk to him if he's having a hard time understanding as a guy to guy, and I think that will help."

"Thank you." I respond. I think having Angus talk this through with me has lifted a boulder off my shoulders.

"I love you, sis, and let me know your decision about Fleetwood once you talk to Edward. Just promise me you do what's best for you and only you, okay?"

"Okay. I'll call you later." I press end on my phone and step out of the car.

It was late, I was a bit tipsy, and I was exhausted; tonight was not the time to have these conversations.

I try my best and tuck away these anxious thoughts and try and immerse myself in Edward's presence.

"Edward?" I shout to an empty kitchen. I notice the low hum of water running and step inside my bedroom to hear the water coming from my bathroom.

I poke my head in and see Edward resting in the bath, looking the most peaceful as I've ever seen him. He pokes one eye open and smiles as he sees me enter. I pull off my jersey, shorts, and take down my hair, slipping into the bath right with him.

"Hi." He mumbles against my hair as I settle against his chest, resting my head against his beating heart.

"Hi." I mumble back, almost in a dream like state.

Edward and I needed to have conversations, but we have had harder ones in the past. If he made it through my whole life story in one piece, then I think he will make it through this dilemma.

That conversation was for the morning, so for now I nustle in closer to Edward, and close my eyes and focus on the steady breath of Edward and sound of the running bath that slowly drift me to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: So... What did you think?**

 **I just want to thank you all again for the amazing reviews from the previous chapter. Keep them coming, please!**

 **Reviews really motivate me more than anything else and if you guys hadn't posted as many as you did this chapter would've been posted much later than today.**

 **Keep the reviews coming and I'll start writing and maybe even get another new chapter up next week (!)**

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 **You're the best.**

 **xx,**

 **S**


	29. Strictly Business

**A/N: Guess who's back to weekly posting for now? ME!**

 **It feels great to get a new chapter up within a week of the previous one as compared to the monthly posting schedule I had to follow when I was in school. I hated abandoning you guys for that long!** **For now, though, I'm here and posting weekly.**

 **On July 21, I head on tour for a few weeks so the schedule might get a bit weird. I'll have time between when I arrive at the venue and when the show actually begins to post, so the schedule shouldn't get too messed up.**

 **Speaking of tour, the big conversation between Bella & Edward happens... I hope you guys respect Edward's reaction. It was so difficult to find the balance between him being supportive but also cautious in his reaction. I hope you guys think the balance was alright. **

**Thank you so much to the Facebook group, Pay it Forward, for recommending this story. I'm not a part of the group, but many of you have messaged me saying it was recommended there and that's how you found this story. Welcome to the family!**

 **There's only one video for this chapter, and it's linked in my profile. Check it out!**

 **For now, keep leaving reviews so I can get motivated to keep up the weekly posting schedule. It's hard to keep up with on top of my career, but your reviews motivate me so make sure to write them so I will get chapters up sooner!**

 **Love you guys. Enjoy.**

 **xx,**

 **S**

* * *

I roll over in bed to find the body that kept me warm through the night had disappeared. The sleepy film covering my eyes dissipates and I stretch, letting my muscles and blood flow rejuvenate after a long sleep.

I roll out of bed with a yawn and pull on a pair of jeans and the "Stoked" t-shirt I wore last night. I open the bedroom door and am struck by blinding light; it was nine in the morning so the sun was pouring through, especially since about 90% of Bella's walls are glass. It takes me a minute to realize it, but I hear the low, sweet hum of a voice coming through a cracked window. It almost sounds like a bird, it's barely audible voice ringing softly. The consistency and harmony prove to me that it isn't a bird, but must be Bella singing. I round the corner and near the back porch that overlooks the hills of Los Angeles and as I get closer, I hear the soft strum of her guitar. I approach the all-glass wall that leads to the back porch and see the back of Bella, her hair tied up on top of her head, her favorite "B" mug by her side, one of my dress shirts covering her body, and her guitar on her lap as she sings out towards the hills, her feet hanging off the ledge of the porch.

I slowly rotate the door open, careful not to interrupt her, and her voice now becomes audible as I step outside.

The lyrics hit me immediately and I'm transported back to the living room in my childhood home on Sundays as a boy. Every Sunday, before dinner, my parents would play the song that Bella's singing right now, La Vie en Rose by Louis Armstrong.

Bella's unique, high but raspy voice gives the song a whole new dimension and the replacement of the jazz band with her guitar softens the song beautifully.

If you listened to her play it with your eyes closed, you would be convinced she was singing this from the balcony of a Paris apartment with a cigarette in her hand and red lipstick on as she watches the Parisian lovers pass by, serenading them with her sweet voice.

 _Hold me close and hold me fast_  
 _The magic spell you cast_  
 _This is la vie en rose_  
 _When you kiss me heaven sighs_  
 _And though I close my eyes_  
 _I see la vie en rose_  
 _When you press me to your heart_  
 _I'm in a world apart_  
 _A world where roses bloom_  
 _And when you speak_  
 _Angels sing from above_  
 _Everyday words seems_  
 _To turn into love song_  
 _Give your heart and soul to me_  
 _And life will always be la vie en rose_

Careful not to scare her once she plays the last chord, I clear my throat softly. She spins around and when she sees me a smile that could warm the Arctic crosses her face.

"Good morning, singing beauty." I plop down next to her on the ledge, closing my eyes and facing towards the sun warming the morning chill.

"Good morning. Nice shirt." she places a kiss on my smile.

Even though she was her normal self, I could sense something was off since she got home last night. She was a bit distracted and had two lines on her face that I know only appear when she's stressed about something.

As if she was reading my mind, she shifts uncomfortably and her eyes focus on the strings of her guitar.

"I have to talk to you about something." She starts.

My stomach flips in anxiety and I feel my heart quicken ever so slightly. Any conversation that starts with "I need to talk to you about something" is always an important one, and it usually isn't positive.

I remain silent and wait for her to continue.

"Obviously, I've dated guys before I found you."

 _Shit this is not how I wanted this to start._

"Over a year ago, though, I ended a two year relationship with my most recent boyfriend. I would never bring this up for no reason because the relationship is long over and I moved on a few weeks after we broke up, but he still is in my life. He's a big musician and while we were together I was their full time tour photographer. After we ended things, I gave the job to a very close friend of mine, Adam Powell, who is a tour photographer and was looking for a job. Since it was a very quick transition for him, he still had shoots scheduled and jobs to do, so I would fill in for the times he couldn't be there and go on tour with them for a few days every couple of months. At first, it of course was a bit odd, but when my ex and I ended our relationship, we both agreed that we had to move on and that due to my extremely close relationship with the band and their whole crew, I would remain tied to them. I mean, I spent every second with the four boys in the band and their crew members for the two years we were on tour, so they're like family to me; especially the band members who I consider my brothers. Just the other day, I got a call from Jamie, their manager and a very close friend of mine, and he let me know they'll be touring Australia right before Thanksgiving when we'll all be there and that Powell isn't free in November. Since he knows I spend Thanksgiving in Australia every year, Jamie called me because he asked if I could fill in during their Australia shows, but I told him I would have to think about it. I would normally accept as I always do, but I didn't feel comfortable without speaking to you first now that you're a part of my life. I know it sounds suspicious, but I can assure you that this is strictly business that I'm doing with a band that I've known for a very long time. I will admit, it was uncomfortable between he and I the first time I shot them after breaking up, but that was a year ago and we got over it so since then I've shot them multiple times and it's been like I'm shooting any other band: completely normal. I can imagine it's a hard position for you to be in, but I just want you to be honest with me. The shows are right around when you'll be flying into Australia and it is totally fine to come a few days early with me and be with me at every show. I asked Jamie, and the lighting and sound crew's tour bus, which is the one I stay on, has an extra bed, so you could come along if that would ease your anxiety. Also, I know you have gotten close to Angus and I just spoke to him about this late last night and he said you can give him a call and talk to him about it; Angus became very good friends with my ex and they are still close, so he knows him on a different level that I do so he can maybe give you some man-to-man clarity." She takes a deep breath as she speaks the last word.

I didn't really know what to think.

I understood what she meant and that these are her friends who she works for, but it's hard to digest knowing that the head of it all is her ex-boyfriend and that he'll be there. Even though my egotistical, jealous side has shrunk since Bella came into my life, it's still there and it's banging on the door to try and get out.

I stumble for a few seconds, trying to find words because I don't really know how to respond.

I really want to let her do this because I know she's close to all the people on that tour and I also don't want to be _that_ guy that holds their girlfriend on a leash and doesn't allow her to do anything; I was sick of that guy. Knowing that I have the option to come along on the tour certainly helps, but the ex-boyfriend just makes it so complicated for me.

"To be honest," I start, "I don't know what answer I can give you because I know and understand why you want to do this, but it's a bit shocking you think I would be comfortable with you spending time with your ex-boyfriend." I admit.

"I know that, but you also have to realize the whole tour consists of 72 people and 9 tour buses, so it isn't like I'm going on a getaway with my ex-boyfriend. I'll be working constantly since it's a small tour the schedule is tight. He's always extremely busy, especially because he's the front man and oversees everything, and I'll also be with 71 other people who I'm very close with and spending time with them as well, so I would be shocked if I even had a chance to sit down and "hang out" with the band. Plus, if you were with me, then I would spend most of the time with you and you could see what tour life is like and you could meet the four other core band members who are some of my best friends, and you could see all of Australia. If I ever thought this would be an uncomfortable situation for you or for me, I would've never considered it. You know I care about you and us far more than I care about anything else in this world." She explains.

She had a point. I now trust the investment Bella has in this relationship and me and I know that she wouldn't put herself in a position where what we have would be threatened.

"Do you promise me that if I say that you should do this that you will be nothing but honest with me?" I ask in a serious tone.

"I swear on my whole life that I will." She answers, just as serious.

I pause for a second, and make sure I'm making the right decision. It's against everything and every value I once had in relationships, but Bella and I's relationship is different and my gut's telling me that what she's explaining is the absolute truth. Plus, as a music junkie, I've secretly always wanted to tour with a band.

"Well then, you better tell them to get that bunk ready because I guess I'm going on tour." I say with a small smile. I was surprisingly excited to see Australia and travel with a band.

Bella's face erupts in a smile and she throws her arms around my neck, throwing her guitar to the side. I hug her back just as tight.

"Know that I'm not this happy and excited because you're letting me go on this tour, but because right there you just further proved that you love me enough to trust me and to know that I value and protect this relationship just as much as I tell you I do." She whispers, placing a gentle kiss on my earlobe.

"I know you do, sweets, I know you do." I whisper back. After a few minutes, we pull away finally and I remember that I forgot to ask her who I'm even going to be touring with.

"Wait, what band are you even talking about?" I ask.

"Babe," she starts with an excited smile, "you're going to be on tour with The 1975." She states.

My eyes just about fall out of my head. The 1975 was definitely in my top five favorite bands, and she knew this.

"What the fuck? Why didn't you say something when I belt their songs so loudly in the shower you ass?!" I shout

She's laughing at my mixture of complete shock and excitement as I smile like a kid on Christmas.

"For a major celebrity, I have to say you fangirl a shit-ton, you know that?" She teases me.

"Oh, fuck you. I'm allowed to fangirl over musicians because I don't work in that industry so I don't have that many connections to them."

"That's bull, you could walk up to any venue and say you're Edward Cullen and the band would let you chill with them. It's a celebrity perk." She affirms.

I move my mouth to respond, but the obvious fact hits me.

"Wait, you dated the lead singer of The 1975?" I say

"Yeah, Matty Healy." She responds

 _Well shit._

I don't really know much about him, but all I know is that Alice has had a crazy obsession with him since before he was well known. Alice always tells me that if she was forced to leave Jasper and marry someone else, it would be him. This, in turn, makes Jasper hate the guy.

"I look forward to meeting them, then." I state. It was kind of a lie because I'm not exactly keen on the idea of meeting the guy who once was with my Bella, but it's not a complete lie because I'm a big fan.

Bella looks at me like I have three heads, her eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" I ask.

"You know you've been creepily calm about this and now you're saying you're looking forward to meeting Matty. Are you sure you're human?" She asks

I silently chuckle to myself. "I will admit that although I'm a fan of their music, the part about looking forward to meeting Matty was kinda a lie. The part about meeting any other people in the band who have not dated you was true. I guess I now truly know that somehow you love me with all my flaws and the craziness of my life, and because of that, I trust you." I say

"And that, my friend," she places a kiss on my lips, "is why I love you. You have so much humility that you could accept me doing this, you see how much I love you, you try and act as supportive as you can about my decisions, even if you aren't really keen about them, and most of all because you listen and think through things rationally. I just love all of you." She gives me a look that expresses every word she just said.

I place a kiss on her and I move to stand up and get ready for the day.

"Wait," She grabs my arm and pulls me back down. "I have some more news I need to talk to you about."

 _Oh shit._

Not like before, though, she starts this conversation with a small smile. "I got another call yesterday from Angus." She moves and places her hand on top of mine. "And I basically found out that my dream since I was six years old has an opportunity to come true." At this point her smile is so wide and I'm waiting anxiously to find out the news. I was happy that this was good news; when she said she had something else to talk about my stomach started doing somersaults.

"Well, come on, what happened?" I blurt out.

"Edward, Fleetwood Mac wants Angus and I to open for them." She announces with a smile and laugh of disbelief that could light up the world.

Like instinct, I throw myself and hug her body humming with laughter of happiness.

"What? How did this happen? When? Where" I question, frazzled. I know how much Bella looks up to Fleetwood Mac and how her one dream was to tour with them.

"I don't even know, I got call from Angus telling me that our old producer got contacted by Fleetwood's manager saying they wanted us to open for them." She says, still just as shocked and frazzled as I am.

"Well, you said yes, right?" I say- she couldn't miss this opportunity.

She's silent for a second and the excitement that was just there dissipates.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you about. It's two weeks long and starts right after Thanksgiving. You would still be in Australia for the first few days of the tour, but it starts in Byron Bay then goes straight to Queensland and you have to be back in LA for press so I wouldn't see you for those whole two weeks and I don't know if I should do it because I know I work for you and-"

"Hold on." I cut her off and her eyes jerk to me anxiously. "You're second guessing this because you're worried about me being without a girlfriend and a photographer for two weeks?" I ask.

"Uh- yeah, I guess, but I don't know, it sounds stupid, but I'd really miss you." She replies sheepishly

"Bella," I start firmly. "This is Fleetwood fucking Mac, not some indie band that has 200 followers. I've lived 25 years without a photographer, I think I can live two weeks without one. As for being without you, yeah it will hurt like a bitch, but it's only 14 days and this is good for us because films will come along where I'll have to be away for weeks so it's good to get used to this now. I'm sorry, but if the tour was on Jupiter I would still make you go because I'm not letting you give something like this up." I push.

I seriously thought she had to be kidding when she said she was second guessing this.

"I know, but I haven't played live since I was a teenager and I don't know if I'm qualified or prepared for that. I also have never gone without photographing for that long" She nibbles on her nail anxiously; it's like you can see the internal battle within her.

"Alright, I'm done with this conversation because you're going no matter what and all these anxieties you're having are completely pointless." She was frustrating me by letting the smallest of unnecessary worries influence this decision. "Think of it this way," I start, "if I asked if I should take an offer to be the lead in a Scorsese film, what would you say?" I ask.

"I'd say you'd be an idiot if you didn't." She answers immediately.

"There we go. Point made. Now go call your brother and tell him you're doing it." I demand, getting up and holding my hand out for her to take.

After a few seconds of more internal debate, she takes it and looks right up at me.

"You really think I should do this?" She asks softly

"I'm surer about this than I am that the sun rises and sets." I state.

After a few seconds, I finally see her smile and I knew I had won.

"I'm going on tour with Fleetwood Mac." She whispers to herself.

"You're going on tour with Fleetwood fucking Mac, babe." I repeat. She throws her arms around me giggling in a way that makes my heart soar.

"God, how did I get so lucky to find you?" She asks, confusing me. This was about Fleetwood Mac, not me.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"It's just, here I am unloading all these pretty substantial decisions about us and my future and you shocked me, to be honest. I know most people would overreact and scream and freak out but you thought through it logically and were able to see that touring with The 1975 isn't a big deal and is actually an amazing and fun opportunity for not just me but you as well. Then you pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me accept a huge opportunity that I was stupidly second guessing, even though it meant that you would lose me for two weeks. I'm just really fucking lucky to have such an amazing person next to me." She says, pushing a piece of my hair that fell forward back in its normal position.

"You're not losing me for two weeks and I'm not losing you for two weeks, love; we'll just be on different ends of the oceans. As for the whole The 1975 thing, I'm still not peachy about the whole thing but I know that if a group of people who I considered family needed my help you wouldn't stop me, even if my ex was going to be there." I answer truthfully.

"I love you." She whispers, grabbing my neck and pulling me into a deep kiss.

"Go on, you vixen." I command, grabbing her hips and swiveling her around and pushing her in the direction of the house where her phone lays by the bed. "Call Angus and Jamie and tell them you're coming." I say, with a broad smile as I watch her practically run to the door in excitement in nothing but my button down shirt, which is my favorite outfit of hers to this day.

As I'm moving to pick up Bella's guitar and my coffee that are still by the ledge, I feel my phone hum in the back of my pocket.

"Hello?"

"How are you alive?" I hear my sister moan on the other end of the line, sounding like her throat was begin rubbed with sanding paper.

"I'm a smart human and don't drink on an empty stomach." I respond, trying not to be amused by my sister's misery.

"You suck." It takes me a minute to understand what she's even saying because I can tell her face is stuffed in a pillow.

"Well, then, if you think I suck then I probably shouldn't tell you the big news…" I start, knowing that once Alice hears about The 1975 she'll scream then start designing proposals for a special, custom collection for their tour outfits then consider talking about the idea of an open marriage to Jasper so she can try and get with Matty. That is, until she hears how Bella knows him. I have no clue what any of the band looks like, but I remember Jasper complaining all the time about Alice watching his interviews and live performances for hours and not giving him any attention.

"Wait, hold on, I'm not that hungover. What's the news?" She interjects so fast it all comes out sounding like one word.

"Well," I say, dragging out every sound of the word as slowly as possible.

"Spit it out, you ass." I hear Jasper moan/mumble in the back.

"The situation of how this came about isn't ideal, but your brother is going on tour with The 1975." I announce, immediately pulling my phone from my ear to brace myself for the scream to come.

Instead, I hear a loud smack and fumbling for a few seconds as Alice searches for the phone that dropped out of her hand when she heard the news.

"W-wai-wh-wait what?" She stutters out.

"You heard me." I'm chuckling at her ridiculous fangirling; she was more well known than the band, yet she never fails to lose her shit over them.

"You heard me. And last I checked, you will be able to make it to one of the shows."

And this is when all hell broke loose. Even though she was drastically hungover, she lets out a loud scream met by the sound of a pillow hitting her, courtesy of Jasper also who isn't having the easiest morning.

"You're shitting me. How? Fucking how?" She yells, practically in tears.

"Well, that's the non-ideal part." I say, scrambling for how to explain this in the simplest terms.

"Wait, hold on, I'm turning on Facetime." Alice's face pops up on the phone, still in bed with Jasper in the background, both looking a little worse for wear.

"Jeez, you weren't kidding about feeling rough." I notice.

"Fuck you. Continue." She commands.

"To make a long story as simple as possible, Bella dated the lead singer and toured with them as their photographer for two years. There are massive amounts of people working for the band, and they're all like family to her. According to her, her and the lead singer ended on good terms so Bella wouldn't have to ruin all the close friendships she has with the rest of the band, including him; as far as I know they're still friendly when they see each other and it doesn't go further than that. She still shoots for them as needed, and she was called in to do their Australia tour right before we'll all be there for Thanksgiving since their normal photographer just found out he can't do it. I was extremely hesitant at first and was going to tell her I wouldn't be comfortable, but she explained how it won't be like it's just her and her ex on tour together, but there are 72 people on the tour who she considers her extended family. Since she knew it was a really tough situation, she said she spoke to their manager and they have an open bed and I was invited on the tour to stay with Bella and to make it easier for me. So, yeah, I guess I'll be on tour with them for two weeks." I explain.

Alice is just looking at me and I see Jasper, who was listening with his head on the pillow facing away from the camera, lift his head and turn to look at me on the screen.

"Wait." He grabs the phone from Alice. "Did you just say you're going with Bella on tour with the band whose lead singer is Bella's ex?" He asks, turning to look at Alice who's looking back at him, both with faces of shock.

"I know it sounds weird, but I trust Angus and Be-"

"No, no, no." Jasper says, laying back down with Alice both with an amazed smile on their faces.

"What?"

"This is my brother, Edward Cullen, correct?" Alice asks.

"Um, yeah, I'm lost."

Alice and Jasper look at each other with big smiles. "FINALLY." Alice's fist pumps in the air.

"Explain, please." I push.

"Dude, don't take this the wrong way because it was understandable in your situation, but it's no secret that you were a tad over possessive over your girlfriends in the past and that's what's ended pretty much all your relationships." Jasper claims, with an agreeing Alice.

"I wasn't _that_ bad…"

 _I totally was._

"Being possessive is normal, but just a few months ago you couldn't trust anyone, not even your own family. Jasper and I were just talking about this a few days ago, but since you've been with Bella, you've changed. You're happier, your ego has shrunk massively, no offense, but mostly we've seen you open up and trust people again. I know after getting thrown into the media and limelight at such a young age was extremely tough and made it hard to trust people and their intentions, but Jasper and I are just beyond happy that you're past that thanks to Bella." Alice and Jasper are both grinning at me

It was true, now that I thought about it. Once I became well known, in the beginning everybody was trying to get to me and I would naïvely let them in and always get hurt after discovering they were just using me for money or attention. After that, I shut myself out and only allowed people to know me on a surface level. This presented itself in my relationships and I remember tracking everything my girlfriends did to make sure they weren't being untruthful about their intentions with being with me. I remember when I was fifteen and had my first girlfriend, my mom told me that if you're lucky enough to find someone you have true, real love with, then questions of cheating, lying, and loyalty all dissipate because you know the depths of your partner's love and you feel it just the same way. I didn't remember that until now, but it all makes sense. I know for a fact that the Edward a few months ago would've probably lost it if Bella asked about touring with The 1975 and would've yelled then stormed out of the house and turned off my phone for days, only to cause days of worry from my girlfriend then send a text breaking it off and accusing her of cheating. It wasn't the right thing, but I did it a lot back then.

So, when Bella told me that, it was like an out of body experience when the rage I used to once feel didn't bubble up. The devil on my shoulder that used to tell me to yell and leave had disappeared. I, for once, could think rationally about a situation like this and see where Bella was coming from.

"So, you don't think it's sketchy or weird? That Bella still helps out for her ex-boyfriend's band?" I ask, just needing a tiny push of validation.

"To be perfectly honest, not really." Jasper starts. "There are 72 people on the whole tour so it's not like an intimate thing, Angus would vouch for the situation, and Bella was completely transparent about it all and asked you to come with her, so it seems innocent to me." Jasper comments.

"Plus, if she was really sneaking around or hiding something, which is probably the last thing on earth Bella would ever do, then she would hide the whole situation from you. Liars don't sit you down and explain the situation they're lying about." Alice adds.

"We see the way she acts around you. I would bet money that she would rather saw her fingers off than do something to traumatize your relationship." Jasper states.

Even though I trusted Bella in my gut from the beginning, Jasper and Alice's validation helped me assure I was making the right choice.

"It's good to see you like this. Don't change, okay?" Alice asks.

"It's funny," I begin, "I now see how much energy distrust and rage took up in my life." I reflect.

"I know, we can physically see the lightness back in you. And don't forget to tell Bella that I can't wait to meet my husband Matty in a few weeks and to tell them they have a custom tour collection coming for them." Alice squeals excitedly while Jasper rolls his eyes so hard he can see his brain.

"I will," I chuckle, "Love you guys. See you tomorrow night."

"Bella's place, right?" Jasper asks, right before I hang up.

"Yes sir, 7 o'clock." Bella and I were having a dinner tomorrow for Emmett, Rose, Alice, Jasper, and our friends so we could go over plans for Australia, but we mostly are all using this as an excuse to throw another party at Bella's place. If it went as well as the last one that ended with me seducing Bella for the first time, then I'll be pleased.

"Can't wait!" Alice kisses the camera and hangs up the call.

I turn to head in and see Bella stepping back out on the porch walking towards me with her phone in her hand.

"Grab your leather jacket and skinny jeans, babe, because we're going on tour." She announces with her arms open and a huge smile. I drop the stuff in my hands and she lets out a squeal scoop her up in my arms, walking straight to our bedroom.

 _Our productive day of work was clearly postponed._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So. What did you think? I hope you all were pleased with Edward's reaction. I know there might be some of you who think he agreed too easily, but I am a firm believer that healthy relationships are the ones with trust. I wouldn't be comfortable saying Edward and Bella have a healthy relationship if Edward either freaked out over the thing or he didn't let her go. There's a fine line between being protective and being controlling and things get messy when that line crosses over into control. I think his reaction was a good balance of support and caution.**

 **There's a video of La Vie En Rose in my profile that's actually a cover with a guitar so it sounds like the style she sang it in this chapter. It's one of my favorite covers of all time and it totally worth your two minutes to give it a listen... I play it on repeat. It's in my profile!**

 **I am going to try and get another chapter up next week so I can continue this weekly posting thing. Sound good?**

 **Please leave your reviews and get ready for the Australia planning party chapter next week! I can't wait till we get to the Australia part of the story and the chapters that will come from that.**

 **Leave a review!**

 **xxxxx,**

 **S**


	30. I Will Be Blessed

**A/N: Hi, I'm back! So this isn't getting posted exactly a week apart but it's pretty close. I've been working 10 hours a day and have been sick on top of it so writing this week has been slow.**

 **Another Bella house party chapter is here, which you guys seem to love. Lots of typical drinks and dancing...**

 **There are visuals for this chapter linked in my bio and PLEASE make sure to leave a review!**

 **Your input is the biggest impact on this story, so leave it!**

 **I'm keeping this a/n short, so lets get in it.**

 **See you soon.**

 **xx**

* * *

I throw on my pink knitted cropped tank top with my white trousers and slip on my nude pumps that I'm starting to believe I can't go out to a party without.

"So we're doing a collection of the twelve that are all edited, correct?" Angela asks me, typing on my computer, her eyes flashing across the screen rapidly.

Considering Edward and I have been terrible influences and do a wonderful job of distracting each other with sex, last night I chose to silence the voices in the back of my head telling me I had to edit and send 20 pictures that are due today and didn't touch them until I scrambled out of bed this morning.

Jamie asked for some pictures of Matty and the band as a part of their feature in Nylon Magazine, and these photos needed to be in by 11 pm Manchester time. Currently, it was 5:30 here which meant we had 30 minutes to get the pictures in and that Edward and I's party began in 30 minutes as well. In other words, at 1 in the afternoon, I was about half way through sorting and editing and realized very quickly I couldn't get this in on time, even though Jake was importing, deleting, sorting and editing alongside me. I blasted a text to the rest of my photography team, and thankfully Angela showed up at my door with her laptop to edit and help Jake and I. Sometimes I wonder if I would be where I am today if I didn't have Jake and Angela as my photography assistants and the few other part time members of my team. Because of their help, Jake was handling dinner and Angela was sending Jamie the 20 photos we needed and I was getting ready for our dinner on schedule.

"Love?" Edward shouts from downstairs as I hear him close the front door behind him. He went home this morning to finish his work emails while I practically locked myself in my office with my eyes glued to Photoshop.

"Up here" I shout back, finishing up tying my hair in a loose bun in the back, pulling pieces out around my face to make it seem more messy.

By now, Angela was aware of Edward and I's relationship. We've been working together for years and she's always been the person I unload on about everything. Rose is my sister so sometimes it's hard to vent because she's connected to some of the situations, so I always use Angela. She's quiet so she listens and doesn't offer her input unless you ask for it; she was like my therapist. Because of that, she didn't have to ask and I didn't have to say anything about Edward and I. I wasn't worried about Angela because I know she stays quiet as a mouse about anything I tell her and she just isn't the gossipy type at all.

I hear him pad up the stairs and I swipe on my lipstick before taking a final look in the mirror and turning to the door right as Edward enters. The guy seriously needed to make me stop looking like shit; I was confident in the way I looked just a second ago, but then he walks in looking like some kind of hipster Greek god smoke-show that could very easily be featured on some kind of street style blog. The worst part about it is that knowing him he probably shuffled through his closet blindly and threw on the first thing he saw which ended up making an impeccable outfit and ran his fingers through his hair and went out the door. Most guys would need 60 different stylists and a personal hairdresser to look half as good as he does when he rolls out of bed; it was just unfair to the rest of us. His glasses are on top of his head and he has a pair of slightly ripped black jeans on with a Calvin Klein graphic tee on and the vintage denim jacket I got for him from my favorite thrift store rolled up at the sleeves.

"You look gorgeous, as always." He walks over with an adorable smile and plants a kiss on my cheek, instantly tensing up right after. I pull away and look at his face which is filled with panic, his eyes darting towards Angela who's typing away on her computer finishing the email to Jamie as if Edward wasn't even in the room.

"Don't worry, she's safe." I whisper, placing a kiss on him as he relaxes. We both are so hyper sensitive to hiding our relationship that we can sometimes freak out if we show some kind of connection accidentally and people are around.

"Bells, can you just review these pictures one more time before I hit send?" Angela asks, looking up from her computer at me and waving at Edward.

I pull away from Edward and move to sit next to her on my bed and shift through the photos. Editing and organizing all these photos got me even more excited for tour than I was before. Even though our relationship is much different than it was before, I still count Matty as a very close friend of mine; despite what happened, he's still somebody who would come over and play video games with or hang out with Rose, Emmett, and I. When we were together, Angus, Rose, Emmett, my friends, Matty, the rest of the band, and I all became one huge friend group that was practically inseparable.

George, who is the drummer and practically Matty's husband, is like the parent of us all. Even though some may say he's the wildest of the group besides Matty, he is always watching out for everybody and is the first person you call when you're in trouble.

Adam, the lead guitarist, is the one I got closest to on a deep emotional level of the whole band. Although he is always the first to jump on a party invitation, he is by far the quietest and calmest of the group. I remember waking up everyday on tour and Adam, or Hann as his nickname is his last name, would be sat on the tour bus couch early in the morning no matter how hungover he was and read some intellectual book. Since Matty always slept in, I would talk with Hann for hours in the morning as we drank our coffee. He was the one who I went to the most when I was having relationship issues or just wanted to talk about the weather. Because he and I had the most one-on-one time since we were always the first two awake, I had time to talk to him for hours. I could talk to George, but it was sometimes hard because he's so incredibly close to Matty that his advice could be slightly biased; I mean, Matty and him have lived together since they were sixteen years old.

The final member of the band who has lived with Hann for sixteen years as well is Ross, the bass player and the undercover clown of the whole group. When you first spend time with him, he appears to be like Hann, quiet and more of a listener, while George and Matty were usually the ones leading the conversation. But, for anybody who first meets Ross, there's always the shocking moment where he'll subtly drop a one-liner out of nowhere that usually ends with everyone on the floor laughing. He's so unsuspecting that he's by far the prankster of the group; he presents himself as a quiet man who takes to himself, while secretly he probably filled your car with pink dildos an hour earlier and is silently waiting for you to discover the surprise in your car. This very prank happened to me the first time I met Ross, and I remember blaming it on everyone _but_ Ross. That's why he's so good. He has a bit of a wall at first, but after spending the first two days of tour with him, he became like my second brother.

I'm flipping through the pictures of the boys, some two years old and some a few months old, and am getting extremely excited for Edward to see and experience why these boys are so close to my heart. Despite the situation, I think Edward might be the new fifth member of the band. Rose, Emmett, and I even have a bet going of how long it will take Edward and the band to be best friends. Of course, despite their similarities and personalities that are scary similar, I'm not really expecting a brotherhood between Edward and Matty, but I think one will definitely grow between Edward, George, Hann, and Ross. Rose is betting one week, I'm betting six days, and Emmett's betting five. I remember Emmett was so possessive over me that when he first went to meet Matty and the band, he walked in all tough and "don't lay a finger on my sister", but by the end of the night that was gone and Matty and Emmett were doing jello shots. They're still best friends today.

"All these look great" I tell Angela, giving her a hug and thanking her again before Edward and I head downstairs to turn on the music and get everything ready.

It was quite a surreal moment for me because the last time I was setting up for a party at my house it was for Edward and his friends, and now Edward's here with me and we're hosting a party together, as a couple.

"What vibe are you feeling?" Edward asks from the stereo, flipping through different artists.

"Turn on my most recent playlist" I respond. Edward searches for a second before he hits play and Wolf Alice comes over the speakers.

"YES Ellie" Jake shouts from the kitchen.

"Who's Ellie?" Edward asks me

"Ellie Roswell, she's one of my closest friends and the lead singer for Wolf Alice. She's opening for The 1975 when we're on tour so you'll meet her." I explain as we walk into the kitchen to find Jake stirring a pot of something that smells heavenly, screaming along to her song, _Lisbon_.

"Jake has a tiny crush on her, if you can't tell." I murmur under my breath to an amused Edward.

"What smells orgasmic?" I hear Emmett shout as she walks in carrying two bottles of wine and Rose trailing behind him.

"Coconut curry" Jake shouts back as Rose and Emmett run over and practically stick their face in the pot and let out a moan.

"Wow, so nice to know you aren't just here for the food." I scoff jokingly.

"C'mon Bells," Emmett whines, wrapping himself around me like a giant bear "you know we love you, but we just love Jake's cooking a tiiiiiny bit more" I slap him in the chest and march over to Rose, grabbing the bottles of wine from her hands

"Well in that case I hope you know we only invited you for the wine." I quip.

"Alright, sis, have we got our Aussie expedition planned out?" Rose asks, turning her accent up.

"If you ask me, I think we have the best trip yet set up." Rose claps her hands excitedly. I began planning this trip the second Edward said he and his family and friends could do it and made sure to line up everything possible to do. I hated itineraries and planning, so I have a general list of things we'll do but no schedule attached to them. Most of my planning included contacting friends and making sure they were around to meet Edward and all of his friends. The general plan was to surf, relax, explore, and spend time with family and friends.

"Ello, mates!" Alice, Jasper, Jessica, Mike, and James walk through the door and I just about spit out my drink when I see Jasper wearing a "Kangaroo Crossing" shirt that you'd buy at one of the tourism shops in the Sydney airport.

"Get out." Rose says instantly, pointing at the door as I roll my eyes at him.

"No way, I'm going full on tourist this trip just to embarrass you asses." Jasper takes a seat at the stool at my kitchen island, throwing his hands behind his head like a cocky ass.

"Edward." I give him a look and he understands immediately. In a swift move, Edward pulls the chair out and Jasper lands right on his ass on my hard marble floor.

"What the hell?" He shouts at Edward who's laughing down at him like the rest of us.

"Act like a ridiculous tourist around us in Australia, and we're feeding you to the snakes." Rose threatens, probably only half joking.

"Jeez, point taken." Jasper groans, stumbling up and rubbing his ass.

Edward gets behind the bar passing out beers and glasses of wine and I sneak behind as well, grabbing the Manhattan Edward made for me; he was learning how to make it just the way I like it.

"So, Bella," Alice starts, speaking louder than necessary causing everyone to zone in on Alice and I, "why don't you tell everybody the news?" She smirks behind her glass of rosé.

"What?" I ask, clueless as to what she's talking about before the pieces click together.

"Ohh" My eyes widen when I realize what she's talking about and I put my drink down at the bar, briefly glancing at Edward who's pouring the last drop of red wine in a glass and smirking at me.

"Well," I start, trying to figure out how to make this as simple as possible, "for some of you who don't know, I dated the lead singer of The 197-" I'm cut off by the sound of Jessica choking on her beer.

"What?" She shouts, her voice going the loudest as I have ever heard it. I wouldn't think Jessica was a fan, but then again I've seen seventy year old men scream louder over Matty than most fourteen year old girls do. Nothing surprises me anymore.

"Hold on, calm your tits." I state, holding my hand out at a flushed Jessica and wide eyed Mike. "Anyways, I dated Matty Healy for two years before we ended on good terms. Due to my close relationship with the band, I'm still close with him and the rest of the band and crew and shoot for them when they need me. I got called in to do their Australia tour right before Thanksgiving and Edward's coming with me." I announce. Jessica's mouth drops open more, Mike's eyes widen even more, James just looks plain confused, Alice is jumping in place, Jasper is trying to keep Alice still, and Rose and Emmett both look like I just told them they won the lottery.

"Jesus, you dick, you didn't tell me that this morning" Rose shouts, scoffing in excitement. Rose was close to the boys as well so whenever she hears I'm going back on tour she turns into a girl on Christmas; tour's like a family reunion for us. I called Rose this morning to tell her I accepted the Fleetwood Mac offer since her and Angus were on my ass about taking it, but I didn't have time to go into the whole The 1975 ordeal with all the work I had, so I opted to tell them tonight.

"Y-you dated Matty?" Jessica stutters out.

"Yeah, a little while ago, death threats and girls trying to fight included." It was true, I couldn't walk around a venue where the boys were playing without some girl screaming that I stole her man and that I'd die if I didn't leave him.

 _Yeah, never got used to that._

"So, like, when we're in Australia we can hang out with him?" Mike blurts out. For two grown adults they were acting like stuttering idiots. I always am used to it though because I get those reactions whenever I tell people who I've photographed; I can't imagine what it will be like when people find out who I date one day.

"Yes, they're ending the tour in Byron Bay and you all will be coming to that show, now please take your beer" Edward cuts in, thrusting a Coors Light at a stumbling Mike.

"Wait we get to see them live and like hang out backstage and stuff? Fucking A!" James yells excitedly.

"Food's ready" Jake shouts out from the kitchen.

Curries were my weakness, so I practically run to the kitchen and grab the bowl right out of Jake's hand. Since it was nice outside, I set up a table out by the ledge that looked over all of Los Angeles and covered the table in little candles.

"This looks beautiful, Bella." Alice says, placing her plate down as everyone begins to take a seat. I pat myself on the back a little bit because if Alice thinks it's good and she's one of the world's biggest designers, then it must be good.

"Fucking hell." Emmett mumbles in a mass of rice and curry so big that could fit in a gigantic mixing bowl.

"Jake, you're a god; I was planning on cooking for you all and had it all planned like a good hostess but I had a deadline at the end of the day and I hadn't touched the pictures since this morning so I freaked out and Jake swooped in and saved the day." I tell everyone

"To Jake," Edward raises a glass and we applaud his impeccable cooking

"So, Australia," I start, changing the topic

"Wait, I've been meaning to ask this since I met you both, but why are your accents so completely different?" Jasper asks Rose and I.

"If we had a dollar for every time we were asked that, we'd be living really fucking large." I state with a smile.

"Basically, accents are individual to every person and as you can hear, Bella's is extremely heavy while you can barely notice mine. Even though I've been in America for only a few years longer than Bella, my accent isn't really existent anymore because my brain picks up on accents much more intensely than other people's. So, since my accent sways and changes so much, when we arrive in Sydney I bet it will take only two days for my accent to come back, but when we get back to the US I will probably lose it again within another two days. But then there are people like Bella whose accent will probably never change. It just depends on the person." Rose explains. Considering Rose being a blonde and me being a brunette and our accent differences, we usually have to pull out IDs just to prove we're sisters.

"Wait, so does that mean I can maybe get an accent?" Jasper blurts excitedly.

"Ooh, babe, we'd be hot with accents." Jess says, turning to Mike. Rose and I roll our eyes in amusement at out friends' excitement.

"It depends, if you can catch a boomerang and pet a kangaroo then you'll definitely get an accent." Rose deadpans sarcastically.

"Wait, really?!" Alice squeals, jumping out of her seat. Everybody turns and looks at her as if she just shape shifted into a unicorn. We continue to stare at her until she slowly retreats to her seat, a shade of crimson so deep I didn't know it existed.

"Lets just forget that ever happened." Jasper murmurs, his hand over his forehead in sheer embarrassment for Alice.

"So, forgetting that I'm related to her," Edward starts, trying to divert the conversation. _Oh, Alice._

"What other fun things do we have planned?" Jessica asks

"Well, I don't think it would be as fun if we had a planned itinerary and schedule to follow so nothing's really planned. Plus, Australia is so laid back I don't think people know how to even follow a schedule, especially in Byron Bay where everyone's main concern is surfing and that's it. School and work come second. But, I do have a lot of things we can do while we're there. All the people I grew up with will be in Byron for Thanksgiving so we'll definitely have dinner and parties with them, I'll bring you to some of the hidden coves and caves that only Angus, Rose, and I know about, we can surf, longboard, hike Minyon Falls which is a waterfall over 330 feet high that leads to a swimming hole, you really can do anything in Byron Bay." I describe.

They continue asking questions and I explain everything. I tell them that they'll all be staying at my place I bought there about a year ago and how my friends are all going to take us out on their boat and we'll sail around the Australian islands; we can really do anything.

By nine o'clock we're a few drinks in and everyone's buzzed, especially me, and acting their normal, ridiculous and goofy selves that I love.

"Emmmmmeeeeeeeeett" I chide, holding out the m and e sounds a bit longer than I should've. _Shit, I'm tipsy._

Edward and I move over to him, ready to charm up Emmett and hopefully make our request successfully.

"Em, my boy," Edward starts

 _Yup, Edward was just as tipsy as I was._

"Yeeeeessss" Emmett chimes back. At this point Edward has his arm thrown around him on one side and I'm hugging his torso.

"Emmy, can you do your little sister-in-law and her boyfriend you love and adore a favor?" I look up at him and bat my lashes, but it probably just looks like my eye's twitching.

"That depends, lil Bell." He responds with a happy-drunk grin.

"Can you please play us a song or two?" Edward pleads.

"Play the one I just wrote for you, puh-lease." I add.

Emmett mock contemplates it just for the suspense, but I know that he can't say no to me; I'm like his little sister.

"Please, Emmett, you were like my fave singer even before I met Bella." Edward whines.

 _Scratch being tipsy. We're both drunk._

"Hey." I shout at Edward. _Favorite singer my ass._

"I meant besides you, babe, duh." Edward explains, slightly slurring his words.

"Mmmmmmmmm… Okay." Emmett states and I practically sprint to my music room to grab one of my guitars.

"Yo, everyone, Emmett's going to play the song Bella just wrote for him." Edward announces

"Here." I stick out one of my Martins at him and he grabs it, starting to tune it to the song.

"Here's the lyrics, too, in case you forget." I lay out my writing journal in front of him.

"I never forget your words, sis." Emmett winks at me. Everyone's sitting on the couches, facing Emmett, and I move to take my seat right on Edward's lap. I listen in to Emmett's tuning and get more and more excited as he progresses on to tuning the next string. I just wrote this song the other day because Emmett said he wanted to get recording again and to send him some new material. I sent him the words and explained the tuning for the guitar and he sent me back the demo, but this will be the first time I've heard it live.

"Wait, Bells, I hope you know that Mike, Jess, and I still have yet to hear this intoxicating voice of yours that we've heard so much about." James states.

"Don't worry, now that Angus and I are opening for Fleetwood and you all will still be in Australia when we begin tour you'll hear me at the Byron Bay show."

"Wait, so we get to go to The 1975 before Thanksgiving and Fleetwood Mac after Thanksgiving?" Jess asks.

"Yup, you all will be my roadies." I wink.

We continue chatting until I hear the tuning that's just right.

"So," Emmett's begins, "I'm pretty sure you all know that Bella's the mastermind behind any of my lyrics, and Bella just wrote this song last week and passed it along for me. I know I say it every time she sends me her words, but I think this could be the best yet." We all cheer for Emmett who's blushing slightly. It's still crazy to me how Emmett can be such a well-known musician but play him music with such humbleness, like it's his first live performance and he's nervous if people will like it.

He begins the intro of finger picking styles and chord progression and right before he lets out the first word, I whisper in Edward's ear.

"I wrote this about you"

He turns and with an splash of surprise in his eyes, he breaks into a wide smile that warms my insides and kisses me briefly before turning to listen to Emmett.

I remember vividly staying up late the night I wrote that song waiting for Edward to come home. He had gone out to play soccer in the afternoon and then had a few night reshoots so he wouldn't be home till around 1 am. Since I've now found it impossible to rest peacefully without Edward, I pulled out my guitar and just let the words flow. The outcome was the truth about how I feel expressed in a song; If I were to die tomorrow, I would be the luckiest girl in the world just to be loved so deeply by someone. There are times when my anxiety starts going and I question if I will be alive long enough to see my kids grow up. The sheer danger, violence, and threats that spewed from Laura when I was a kid has made it hard for me to say that I would be safe if Laura were to find me one day. When you're around someone with the unpredictability and outbursts like hers, safety is never a guaranteed thing. This all lead me to think that even if Laura were to take we away from this earth, I would die happy and I would die blessed because I would be able to say that I left this earth having been with someone who loved me deeply and truly. It would be an honor to pass on with Edward not beside, but within me.

 _oh my ghost came by,_  
 _said who do you love the most,_  
 _who you gonna call before you die._  
 _oh my ghost came by here,_  
 _said who do you love the most,_  
 _who you gonna sing to before you go._

 _oh hey, heaven is a place we know,_  
 _heaven is the arms that hold us long before we go._  
 _oh hey, heaven is the place we know,_  
 _heaven is the arms that hold us long before we go._

 _oh my ghost came by here,_  
 _said who do you love the most,_  
 _who you gonna sing to before you go._

 _oh hey heaven is the place we know,_  
 _heaven is the arms that hold us before we go._  
 _oh hey heaven is the place we know,_  
 _heaven is the arms that hold us long before we go._

 _oh if you're there when the world comes together,_  
 _oh if you're there I will be blessed._

 _I will be blessed._

 _oh you're there when the world comes together,_  
 _oh if you're there I will be blessed._

 _I will be blessed..._

Emmett plucks the last string and I open my eyes to see tears rolling down Alice's face and Edward watching intently with a soft, peaceful gaze.

"Holy shit, pass the tissues, please." My eyes divert to Rose who also has tears staining her cheeks, and it's then that I realize that I do too.

Rose gives me a look, wiping her eyes, telling me that she understands. She understands what I'm saying in that song. She understands because she's had the same worries about Laura as I have.

"God, that was amazing." James says, in a haze from the song.

"If your music is as good as your writing, then we're in for a real fucking treat." Mike grins at me

"Just you wait till you hear not only Bella but Bella and Angus together. Fucking extraterrestrial unicorn magical shit." Emmett dead pans, lightening the mood for us all as we chuckle at Emmett's typical blunt, vulgar, and always present humor.

"That song wouldn't be anything without Emmett." We all clap and cheer for Emmett as he does a bow for us.

I feel my butt vibrate but look around confusedly because my phone was sitting on the bar. Edward reaches into his pocket, glances at the screen, and quickly puts it away. "I gotta take this; I'll be right back." He places a quick kiss on my cheek and before I can even question him my attention jumps to James, Emmett, Jess, Jake, and Alice all doing an oddly well choreographed dance as Hold on We're Going Home by Drake comes over the speakers. It's kind of like watching the girl in the scary movie creeping down the hallway to the room where the murder is most definitely hiding; half of you says it's far too horrifying to watch while the other half is curious and wants to see what's happening.

"Come on, Swanface!" James shouts, circling his butt in the air. Since I'm usually the first to start dancing at a party, I chuck my heels off and jump on the bar, pulling Alice with me. We end up doing the Macarena but in an oddly sexy way with our hips moving with each pose.

"Jesus, I was gone for two minutes." Edward says, standing in the doorway looking at us dancing on the bar like a bunch of barbarians.

Alice gasps dramatically, causing us to look at her to proceed. "Oh my god, it's national ice cream day" I let out a sigh of relief along with everyone else knowing that nobody's dying or in danger. With Alice, everything is gasp-worthy. Even ice cream.

"Well then, call an uber, we're going to Sweet Rose." Jasper announces, jumping off the bar to get his coat. We all race to get our cash and shoes like the little kids we are when the ice cream truck drives by. Since it was a Saturday night, we got an uber within moments and were headed to Sweet Rose, everyone in LA's favorite ice cream place in West Hollywood. "Excuse me." Alice taps the uber driver on the shoulder, probably causing him to curse himself for ever picking up a bunch of drunk friends.

"Yes, miss?" He answers curtly.

"Can you please play The 1975?" She asks, even putting on a puppy dog face.

The driver opens his spotify and the heavy bass of the intro of _Loving Someone_ booms through the speakers.

"YEAH YOU SHOULD BE LOVING SOMEONE" We all scream pathetically throughout the intro then recite every word when the song begins. I'm even shocked to see James, Edward, and Mike know the words just as well as Alice, Jess, and I do.

By the time we finish screaming the last line of Loving Someone, we're pulling up to Sweet Rose and it's packed as always. "Wait," Edward grabs my arm before I climb out of the car. "we have to remember that we're not together to any of these people. We have to like, act normal, and shit." He says this seriously but is slurring his words a tiny bit; drunk Edward was quite adorable. Thank god Edward reminded me, because between the alcohol and singing I completely forgot that in public I had to act a certain way.

"Right, lets get our shit together. Act normal." I squeeze his hand and step out of the car, throwing my arm around Jasper and hold hands with Alice as I walk in with them, still singing the chorus to Loving Someone pathetically. Edward's close behind laughing hysterically and drunkenly about something with Mike and James. The mix of the singing and laughing throws the plan of acting normal and going under the radar out the window because by now the whole place is looking at us, and their eyes are now glued on Edward.

Shit.

Alice and Jasper stick with me as we order our ice cream and Edward is taking pictures with the now large line of people waiting to meet him. Pretty soon, people are shifting over and asking for pictures from Alice, Emmett, and Jasper as well. I'm eating my mint chip with Mike, Jake, Jess, and James as the rest of them finish taking pictures with the line of girls. The nasally voice near me causes me to look up at a twenty something year old blonde with fake boobs and far too many lip injections walking towards me. She could be the poster girl for girls living in LA.

"Incoming." Mike mumbles into his ice cream.

"Um, Bella?" She asks. I recognized her because she was one of the first girls who ran up to Edward and Jasper when we walked in.

I look confusedly behind me. I had been recognized in the US before, but that was really only if I were at an event or a concert. People recognizing me doing daily activities was a very rare occurrence; it was normal in Australia where Angus and I were well known for our music or if I were walking around the city where The 1975 were playing that night, but other than that, never.

"Yeah?" I answer, still a bit puzzled.

"I'm sorry I know this might be a bit weird, but I just wanted to say hi because I know you're one of Edward's close friends so I looked up your photography the other day and it's incredible. I'm a big fan." Shit, I forgot that Edward and I have been photographed in the same group a few times between the Alt-J show and the other time's we've all gone out together so I was now well known by Edward fans.

"Thank you so much." I respond; the girl was quite sweet, so I reach out and give her a hug.

"It's no problem. Are you all just grabbing ice cream together?" She asks in a way that makes me feel a bit suspicious in my gut. I try and play it off as calmly as possible.

"Yeah, I just work for Edward but I'm with all of them because I'm really close to Alice and Jasper and they asked me to come along. I don't know Edward that well on a personal level, to be honest. He's a great boss, though." I say nonchalantly.

"I bet, I'd much rather look at him than my grimy old boss." She remarks.

"Where do you work?" I ask, making casual conversation since Edward and the rest of them were still taking pictures so I had time to kill.

"I work for US Weekly." She responds and my grip on my ice cream cone tenses so much I hear a small crack. No wonder she was asking questions.

 _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_

"Oh, really?" I say as casually as possible. James, Jess, Mike and Jake are listening to this conversation practically hiding in their ice cream and thinking the same thing as I am.

 _Thank fucking god Edward and I didn't slip up_.

If I hadn't lied and said that Edward and I strictly knew each other through work and that I was only friends with Alice and Jasper, I could've been screwed. In one second, she probably could've blown this whole thing up and gotten a cover story out of Edward and I's relationship if I showed any sign of affection towards him accidentally.

Her and I continue light conversation until she says goodbye and snaps a picture with me.

"Close motherfucking call, sis." James whispers and I instantly relax as I watch the reporter leave the store.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I respond.

"Who knows what would be on the cover of US Weekly if you hadn't said you were just friends with Alice and Jasper." Jake says, just as relieved as I am.

"I don't even want to know." I respond.

"Ready to go?" I look up and all the fans have sat back down and it seemed like the pictures were done.

"Yup." I pipe up, practically running to the car so I can tell everyone what just happened.

"Bella got recognized." Alice sings as we get in the car and close the door.

"Yeah, was that just a fan of your photography?" Edward asks while devouring his triple scoop cone.

"Mmmm, I guess you could say that." Jess says

"What do you mean?" Jasper questions.

"She came up to me because she knew my work through Edward so I played it off and lied saying I just worked for Edward and that I tagged along all those nights we've been out because I'm friends with Alice and Jasper. Turns out that some divine power was watching over me because she worked for US Weekly, which explains why she asking questions about being close with Edward since US Weekly was the one who published the photos of all of us at Alt-J." I explain

"Holy shit thank god you and Edward didn't act close in there or else she could've snapped a picture and ran with the story." Rose remarks since she was with Emmett the whole time so she didn't see any of this.

"Yeah, Mike, Jake, Jess and I practically hid our faces in our ice cream silently panicking for Bells." James adds

"It's all good now, though, it's just a reminder that Bella and I are doing the right thing being overly cautious and playing it safe because we never know who's watching." Edward chimes.

"Hey," Rose turns to all of us practically piled on top of each other in the car as we head home. She raises her ice cream cone in the sky. "To the best trip of our lives." She toasts, and we all cheer, clinking cups and cones together.

In less than two weeks, I can meet all of Edward's cousins, aunts, uncles and he can do the same with my family. Just the thought of stepping into my house there over looking the beach and waking up in the morning to drink coffee and watch the morning surf has me wanting to turn this car towards LAX so I can get there already.

In less than two weeks, Edward and I can leave all the Hollywood bullshit behind and live out of bathing suits and walk around with barefeet. It's like the second you breathe Byron Bay air something changes in you: everything moves slower, stuff you once worried about evaporates, and you become fully immersed in the moment.

Edward places his chin on my shoulder, leaning in. "I wouldn't choose anybody else to bring home to my family." He whispers, just about melting me to the seat in adoration.

"Me neither, love." I whisper back amongst the excited chatter of our friends because we were going to Byron Bay fucking Australia.

* * *

 **A/N: Australia is fast approaching!**

 **Bella's portfolio of Matty and the band is linked in my profile along with the song she wrote for him. If you can remember from the beginning, Emmett's music is Ben Howard's in real life, so make sure to give Ben's sing a listen and just imagine Emmett singing it.**

 **There are a bunch of visuals so check them out!**

 **I'll be posting soon. Remember, the more reviews you leave, the faster I write!**

 **Review, visuals, review!**

 **xx**


	31. USA to AUS

**A/N: Okay, I'm crawling out of a cave here. I've been gone for awhile, I know. I'm sorry!**

 **If you follow me on twitter, you know I was on tour with a musician, at a music festival, traveling down the California coast, spending time in LA, exploring Seattle, and attending a family reunion during the end of July/early August. It was a whirlwind. Every day I would wake up in a different city, travel to a venue with the band, watch their soundcheck, work in the green room, sit outside as the fans pour into the venue, watch the show, pack up, then head on to another city. Before that, I was exploring Seattle and went to a music festival, then after I was spending time in LA with my family.**

 **Needless to say, I'm exhausted.**

 **I gave myself a long break from writing when I got home so I could sleep, but I'm back now.**

 **The Australia adventure has officially started for these two, and I can't wait for the change of pace this story is about to get. I have a particular fascination with Australia; my sister lived there for a little bit and I remember her returning and instantly telling me that I was going to live in Byron Bay one day. "With your personality and lifestyle, if you ever went to Australia you would never come back. It's like you were meant to be born there but accidentally were placed in America." she once told me when returned home after her first time there.**

 **Because of that, this part of the story is very exciting for me to write; I can't wait to share my knowledge and fascination for Australia through Edward and Bella.**

 **There are a couple of visuals linked in my bio for you to check out. Just click my name (TheMadOnes4) in blue in the top bar- you know the drill!**

 **Since I'm still tired, I'm not feeling too motivated to write so PLEASE leave me a review- it will definitely help me get off my ass!**

 **See you soon.**

 **xo**

* * *

"Harder" Bella shouts, gasping loudly.

I separate for a second before pushing with all the strength in my body.

"YES" Bella shouts out. When we know we've done it, both her and I collapse in relief, breathing heavily.

"Geez," Bella starts, "why the fuck did you think we could fit all these bags into a tiny Prius?"

"I didn't ask for a Prius, I asked for a subtle car that won't attract paparazzi at the airport."

"Yeah, well subtle doesn't really work when you're practically moving away for a month." Bella retorts.

"We just fit all the bags in though, didn't we?" I wiggle my eyebrows.

"We did, but not without feeling like I just ran a whole marathon." Bella falls limp into the backseat that she was just hanging over into the trunk trying to guide me on how to fit the last bag in.

"Alright guys, you ready to go?" Paul, my bodyguard, asks.

"Yes, let me just give one final goodbye to the house." Bella skitters into the house leaving just Paul and I leaning against the car.

"She's a real sweetheart, man. Good on ya." Paul nudges my shoulder.

"She's definitely something special." I remark.

"Who would've ever thought that the Edward I first met years ago would not only be in an actual relationship but one with an Australian hippie photographer?" The truth of that statement makes me bark out a laugh.

"Hey, I don't know man, but I'm really fucking happy."

"Yeah, I can tell, I watched you burn your toast this morning because you were staring at her ass. You're whipped dude."

I let out another laugh. "If I had a dollar for every time I'm told that."

"Alright boys, lets get this show on the road." Bella checks that the door is locked for the millionth time.

"Bella, you'll be in the rental and Edward and I will be in the Escalade. You'll go to the side entrance of the terminal and Edward and I will enter through the front. Once Edward gets to security, you're both on your own. Try and stay as far away from each other as possible and act like complete strangers while you're in the airport. Once you get on the plane, though, you guys have first class so you have your own little room in the plane that you can close the door to and be your normal selves. Other people in first class will most likely have their doors closed as well, so you don't have to worry about people seeing you. Bella, if you have any trouble, you can always call me." Paul runs over the plan strategically.

"Thank you, Paul, if I didn't know what you were talking about I would think this was some plan to break into a house or something." Bella jokes.

"Get ready for it, babe, because if you're with me getting through an airport it might be the most exhausting thing on earth." I groan

Bella gets in the rental and I get in the back of the Escalade with Paul as we head towards the airport from Bella's place in the hills.

"How the hell did you find her? She's like a chiller, cooler version of you." Paul chimes as I roll my eyes.

"I was looking for a photographer and somebody to manage my social media and to conduct any photo shoots I do, and a mutual friend of Bella's brother-in-law said he knew someone who would be good for the job. After Zafrina and Riley interviewed massive amounts of people, Bella was second to last and I went to look at her portfolio as I did with all the applicants. When I went in the room, I was not only struck by her presence and beauty, but was amazed to see that she actually had meaningful photos of indigenous cultures, wars, refugees, orphaned children, etc. and not just meaningless photos of a celebrity posing like all the others. Bella ended up doing a trial with me and took by far the most incredible portrait I had ever seen; she didn't set up lighting or retouch it, she just let the emotion show through. After that, we signed the contract and Bella began working for me. To make a long story short, Bella and I bonded closely and it just went from there." It's always funny to me to tell the story and revisit how we came together because if you told me a few months ago that I would be head over heels for a member of my team, I would call you crazy.

"Well shit, I'm really happy for you, man. You're like a completely different person with her, in a good way." Paul gives he a heavy bro slap on my shoulder.

After an hour of never-ending LA traffic, we pull up to the Virgin Australia terminal and within a few feet from the drop off curb, there are paparazzi practically climbing on the car, their blubs blinding me. Paul goes into his full on beast security mode and shouts for them to get back and opens the door, pushing them aside and creating enough room for me to get out without being suffocated. Keeping my head down, I am right on Paul's tail as he keeps pushing to get to the doors.

 _Moments like these when I can't exit a car at the airport without feeling like the universe is closing in on me and like my lungs are shrinking is what make me really hate my job._

Silently praying to myself that Bella is alright with all the bags, I make a b-line straight to security to where I know the paparazzi can't enter. I don't even have to look up to see the massive crowd that's formed considering the chaotic scene the paparazzi have caused.

 _Fuckers._

"Everybody, pipe the fuck down." Paul shouts in frustration, causing me to chuckle in surprise. He's like a friend and swears casually around me all the time, but when he's working you won't even hear him utter the word crap.

We finally reach the security line and I turn my music up and keep my head down and shades on. I'll almost always do pictures with people, but when it's at the airport I draw the line; it's just too hectic. When I've moved further down the line, it's like my radar goes off and I glance up to see Bella in her leggings, loose tee that shows a sliver of her stomach, adidas, denim jacket, and bun on her head tapping on her phone. Even though she's further back in the line than I am, she's right near me since the line winds around the airport and I've already done a full lap. My eyes shoot over to the loud talking and laughing as a group of about seven frat boys march in drunkenly with Kappa Phi shirts, sombreros on their heads, sunglasses that scream "I'm a douche", and those massive drink holders that go around your neck, filled to the brim with god-knows-what.

"CANCUN 2016!" One of them shouts, pounding his chest as the rest of them cheer along obnoxiously. "Remind your assistant to never book a flight with an airline that shares its terminal with Air Mexico" Paul mumbles and I let out a chuckle. I feel my phone buzz and I see a text from Bella.

 _If there were a picture to identify sleazy, frat boy, fuckboys, these guys would be it._

I bark out a laugh and show the text to Paul who chuckles as I send a reply.

 _Let's just all be thankful they decided Cancun, Mexico and not Perth, Australia._

I hit send and glance at Bella casually through my glasses and just about crush my phone into a ball of steel when I see the six punks whispering to each other not so loudly with their eyes glued to Bella. The grip of my phone tightens more than I even thought possible and my knuckles turn white as snow as I watch the King Douche wobble up to Bella, reeking of alcohol. "What good deed did we do to have you to ourselves on this flight to Cancun." He slurs like an idiot.

 _Motherfucker is about to regret ever laying an eye or even breathing in Bella's direction. Fuck the crowd watching._

Right when I move to duck under the ribbon separating us and lay a fist on the fucker's face, I feel Paul's sturdy hand on my shoulder yank me back.

"There's not a fucking chance am I letting you get in a fight and blow your cover." He says, trying to reassure me, but it only infuriates me more.

"Clearly, none, because I'm going to the opposite side of the world, thankfully." Bella quips, placing her headphones on and moving away from them. Before I know it, I watch the ass reach out and grab Bella's hip and all I see is red. I need to go and tear the shithead apart, but I also see the paparazzi still snapping pictures from afar and if I go and get Bella, it'll be a tabloid's wet dream. Before I can even decide what I should do, Paul swoops in like a savior and ducks under the ribbon and grabs the guys wrist, twisting it in a way that makes the pussy cry out in pain.

"I saw the way you spoke and touched that lady and if you do not apologize to her and go to the back of the line right now, then I will making a call to security and get you put away for harassment." Paul sneers.

"I-I'm sorry." The idiot stutters out, scared as shit of Paul.

"I'm sorry, what." He sneers even harder.

"I'm so-sorry, miss."

With reluctance, Paul lets go of his wrist and the group of frat douches walk away with their heads ducked in embarrassment. That's right, assholes.

"Thank you so much, sir." Bella says to Paul.

"No problem, have a nice day." Paul nods at Bella and walks back to where I am, causing the crowds watching the encounter to return to whatever they were doing.

"Thank you so much, man." I whisper.

"I knew you wanted to, but I wasn't letting you blow it. It's all good; the paparazzi couldn't see anything from there.

 _Please tell Paul thank you. So fucking scary._ I see Bella's text flash on my screen.

 _I know, love, are you okay? I wish that was me ripping that asshole's wrist off. If Paul didn't stop me I would've been right there, please know that._

 _I do know that, which is why I'm glad Paul stopped you. That douche isn't worth it._ Bella responds.

 _Are you sure you're okay?_

 _Yes. We'll be together soon, if this line gets moving ;) I love you._

 _Love you always._

"Is she okay?" Paul asks

"Yeah, she's fine. Thank god the guy didn't go further or else it would've been a bad situation for not just Bella, but me." I respond, just thinking about what I'd do to the asshole if he laid another finger on her.

Thankfully, no more scumbags give Bella anymore trouble and I say goodbye to Paul and make it through security without a flinch. Hat and sunglasses on, I b-line it to the gate, only glancing up once to make sure I was heading in the direction. If I'm not cautious and successfully go through and airport unnoticed, then I can very easily miss my flight from all the people stopping me.

 _Trust me, I've learned that the hard way._

I see a secluded seat in the corner that isn't too far away from my gate and throw my stuff down. I open my phone and see an email from one of The 1975's tour managers running over where we were going.

Once we land in Perth, it will be nighttime there so Bella and I will head straight to our hotel and try to get some sleep before we meet up with the band the next morning to get on the buses and head to the venue. After that show, we travel across the whole southern and eastern coast to Adelaine, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, and finally Byron Bay.

 _A total of 3,209 miles. Shit._

We have a show every night besides Sydney, where everyone has two days off to explore and get some rest. The last show they play in Byron Bay will be at Splendour in the Grass, a massive festival that's essentially the Coachella of Australia. There's a killer lineup that pretty much had all of us crying tears of joy, so Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Mike, Jessica, and James are flying in early and going to the festival with us for all three days along with a massive group of Bella's friends. On top of it all, the band is staying for the duration of the festival with us, even though they only have to play the first night.

Practically twenty of us will be camping out, partying, and seeing our favorite bands until the wee hours for three days straight; it's going to be fucking awesome. Bella and I were practically screaming like little six year old girls when we planned this all out and everyone said they would come for the festival.

Noting the fact I won't get much sleep for the next two weeks, I tip my hat down over my face so I can try and rest before the flight and stick my earbuds in. After much persistence, I had Bella upload all her music that she has just sitting on her laptop, lonely without any ears to bless, on to my phone. I hit play on one of her songs and instantly her voice calms me as I doze off until a half an hour later when the vibration of my phone jolts me awake.

 _We're boarding, sleeping beauty. See you on the plane. X_

I gather my stuff, breeze through the priority lane, and finally make it to Bella and I's little personal corner of the plane. I glance around, and the few passengers in first class are all in their own rooms with the door closed so I swiftly slip into ours. Like a little girl, my heart skips a beat when I open the door to see Bella in her seat, leaned up against the window, reading her book.

"Welcome to our humble abode." She says once she sees me. I throw my bag down and plop down in my seat, leaning across to kiss her like I haven't seen her in 20 years.

 _20 years, 2 hours. Same thing._

Our section has two large seats next to each other with a sofette across from us and a TV above it.

Double checking the door to our little cove is locked, I flip over and throw my knee on the other side of Bella so her legs are in between mine and begin kissing her all across her chest while my hands are everywhere, tickling her in the places I know drive her insane.

She yelps out in shock, so I stop immediately and lock eyes with her, giving her a scolding look.

"Now, Ms. Swan, people are around us and do not want to be disturbed by some crazy screaming woman." Before I even give her a chance to breathe, I lift up her shirt and blow a raspberry right on the center of her stomach, causing her to laugh harder. Next, my hand goes straight to her sides, tickling so hard she's writhing in her seat. She's smacking me in the arm in protest since she knows she can't yell, but she can't stop the occasional squeals, yelps, and giggles.

"E-Ed-Edward fucking Cullen, if you d-don't stop this right now." She grumbles out in between screams and giggles as she squirms wildly below me.

"What's that? I can't understand you because for some reason you're giggling and squealing so much." I joke.

"You-ah-you heard me damn-eep-well, Cullen." I get ready to snap out a response, but a knock on the door causes me to jump off Bella like I just found out she has a wildly contagious disease. The stewardess pokes her head in and I'm sitting awkwardly in my seat, trying to act casual but failing miserably, and Bella's gasping in her seat, her clothes slightly disheveled from my hands tickling every part of her.

 _Fuck. Busted._

"Oh, um-uh, sorry to disturb you, but we're taking off in five minutes." The stewardess stutters out, flushing crimson.

"Yes, thank you." Bella says politely as the stewardess slips out of the room.

Once she leaves, Bella and I burst into laughter at the horrendously awkward encounter. We try and stifle our chuckles, but we're helpless.

"Serves you right for practically assaulting me." Bella giggles out.

"Yeah, yeah, just put your seatbelt on, Swan." I respond. I feel the plane begin to shake under me and I grab Bella's hand in preparation for take off. I lean across my seat, resting my head on Bella's shoulder, and we both watch out the window as we begin to soar above LA and over the ocean. In only several hours, I was going to be wandering Bella's homeland with her by my side, touring with her closest friends and one of my favorite bands, and traveling across Australia with her hand in mine. I place a soft kiss on her shoulder and she peers back at me, kissing me lightly.

"Are you ready to see the most beautiful place on earth?" She asks

"Oh yeah, I've always wanted to see the men's bathroom in the Perth airport. One of the seven wonders of the world, correct?" I joke and Bella rolls her eyes, giggling.

"So, do you get recognized in Australia?" I ask

"Yeah, sometimes, since people know Angus & I's music." She answers

"Oooooh, gurl, you famous." I jokingly lift my eyebrow sassily, suck my teeth, and pout my lips like I'm a chick straight out of the hood.

Bella blurts out a loud laugh and I smile, watching her giggle. When i'm with Bella, I find myself cracking jokes more than I normally do just so I can listen to the sound of her laughter.

We continue watching the ripples in the ocean pass beneath us until Bella turns back to me. "Thank you for coming all this way and letting me share my favorite place on earth with your family." She says, killing me once again with her bright eyes as she peers at me through her lashes.

"I'd go anywhere with you." I respond, and she cuddles into my side and rests her head against my chest, her eyes slowly closing. Before I know it, my eyes too begin to feel heavy and I allow myself to drift off with Bella tucked into my side, knowing that soon I'll be waking up and starting my adventure with her.

* * *

 **A/N: And so if begins...**

 **Motivate me and leave a review!**

 **xo,**

 **S**


	32. Down Under

****UPDATE** Thank you to the user who reviewed and let me know that for some reason, when you clicked on this chapter, it showed chapter 31, not chapter 32 To all of you who clicked early and went to read the chapter but only saw the old chapter, I'm so sorry! It's all fixed now :) Enjoy!**

 **A/N:**

 **Hello, hello, hello!**

 **I know I say this every time, but I've been crazy busy. School just began for me and I am currently juggling a thousand things, but I still wrote this quick chapter!**

 **Edward meets his first person on the tour, and I think you guys will love her :) Since this chapter was kind of short, I'll post another soon.**

 **Visuals are linked in my bio, as always, and PLEASE leave a review!**

 **xo, S**

* * *

"Don't you have to hide or something?" Bella questions, watching the little back Uber on her phone screen sitting, not moving an inch towards us.

"It's four in the morning Australian time and the paparazzi probably thought I was going to Paris for fashion week, not Perth, Australia." I answer, sitting on my luggage and fiddling with a coin as we wait for the uber to pick us up. What Bella said about Australian air was definitely true; it has a special quality. I've had layovers in Australia before this, but have never left the airport until now. From what I've seen of it, which is just the inside of the airport terminal and the passenger drop off area, it seems pretty sweet.

"Does this dude know how to drive? His car hasn't moved on the map since I called the car five minutes ago." Bella huffs. It was pretty much just Bella and I in the area since it was late and we were sitting at the far end of the terminal; besides a few cars passing by and the old man waiting for his ride on the bench a couple hundred feet across from us, Bella and I had this part of the terminal to ourselves. All of the sudden, a black rental car rounds the curb with music pouring through the open windows. I instantly recognize the song as one of Bella's and her and I both shoot each other worried and confused glances. Bella's head whips back to the approaching car and once the it gets close enough to see who's in the driver's seat, Bella's face lights up like Times Square at nighttime. Screeching to a stop, a girl with brownish-blonde hair tied up in a messy ponytail, a loose band tee, ripped black jeans, and Doc Marten boots jumps out of the car so fast I can barely believe she actually put it in park. Bella runs over and they hug so tight they could pass off as one person from afar. The mystery blonde is giggling along with Bella as they continue to hug rocking back and forth. After a minute, they pull away and the girl looks at her phone with distaste, "Girl, cancel that Uber, I'm your chauffeur tonight." She scoffs, smiling at Bella. She has a thick British accent so it's clear Bella doesn't know her from Australia. Maybe she's a part of the tour? "Thank god, at this rate he wasn't going to show anyways." Bella rolls her eyes as she cancels the car. A flash of realization crosses Bella's face and her eyes whip between the excited blonde girl and my confused face, trying to figure out who the girl was.

"Ohmygosh, Ellie, you haven't met Edward, I'm such an idiot." The blonde's face peers over Bella's shoulder and I give her a warm smile.

"Edward, this is Ellie Roswell, the lead singer of Wolf Alice." Bella steps aside so the girl can grab my outstretched hand.

"Ah, so you're the infamous Ellie." I say, the pieces coming together in my head.

"Oh god, don't believe a word you've heard." She jokes, shaking my hand then catching me off guard and pulling me into a hug.

"Sorry, we're going to be together for weeks so you better get comfortable with me now." Ellie states. I look over at Bella who's smiling at the encounter. Ellie and I break apart when the crossing guard yells at us to move our car so we apologize and scramble to throw our bags in and head to the hotel.

"Thank you for grabbing us at such a late hour." I say, sliding into the car.

"Not to worry, I just got here yesterday so I'm usually eating dinner at this hour. Plus, I wanted to see Bella's face when I surprised her." Ellie responds and we exit the airport and head on the highway.

"Who else is here?" Bella asks

"Everyone expect for Matty, Hann, and Jamie who are flying in tomorrow and meeting us at the venue. Peter, Tyler, Sam, and Allen got in last week to begin organizing then Curtis, Amy, Mark…" I begin to zone out of the conversation at they talk about people I don't know and all these musical things I'm clueless about at this point. It's reassuring to me, though, to know that in just a few hours I'll know who they're talking about and maybe after this tour I'll be as close with the people as Bella is.

"Edward," Bella says, diverting my attention from the approaching city lights of Perth as we begin to enter the city. "are you okay handing our luggage tomorrow morning so I can have a quick meeting with the light and set managers before lunch? I just need to check in with them so I have an idea of what the stage and lights will look like so I know what I'll be shooting." She asks

"You do know I started living on my own when I did my first major movie when I was fourteen, right Bells?" I question, chucking at her worrying if I'll be okay loading some bags onto a bus.

"Actors…" Bella mumbles jokingly, rolling her eyes as Ellie smiles at our exchange

"So, Mr. Cullen," Ellie starts, glancing at me with a smirk through the rearview mirror. I notice that our surroundings are becoming more urban and that we must be entering the city.

"Yes, Ms. Roswell," I shoot back with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"I've gotta ask. How are you and Ms. Swan over here planning on hiding this romance when you both will be living together along with 72 other crew members and 10 band members in total?" Ellie asks, raising a concerned eyebrow back at me.

Bella glances over her shoulder to me, smiling as she watches Ellie and I's banter.

"Well, if you must know, I happen to have a plan in action." I respond. We've only been together for fifteen minutes and I already know Ellie and I will be good friends. Let's just hope it will be that way with all the 81 others.

"Do you now?" Ellie replies, impressed.

"So as of now the plan is to allow a few spottings happen, then after people on social media start questioning why I'm in Australia I'll go on stage during one of the sets and have Matty announce that I'm a special guest on the tour. Of the thousands of people in the crowd some people are bound to be filming and will post the announcement on social media, so the news will spread from there. As for the crew and everyone, of course Bella and I are comfortable having you, the rest of your band, The 1975, and any of the crew that Bella is close with and trusts knowing about us. As for everyone else on the tour, we'll just tell them that I'm a friend of the bands and that it just happens to be that I know Bella from doing photoshoots with her." To be honest, even when I talk through it, it sounds like a pretty solid plan.

"Damn, guys. Impressive." Ellie states, smiling at us. "How long did it take to figure out and set up all that?" She asks.

"No clue, my publicity team handled it then told me the plan." I say, nonchalantly.

I watch as Bella and Ellie look at each other with wide smiles as if there's an inside joke I'm missing out on.

"Actors." They both say in unison before breaking out into giggles. Grinning at the both of them, I throw my hands up and roll my eyes dramatically.

"Oh, yeah, my publicity team handled it." Bella says in a deeper voice, impersonating me.

"Shut it, Swan. Let's not forget you're the one who has said, and I quote, 'I'm not spoiled, just blessed'. Let's remember who's the real diva here." I retort, making sure to mimic Bella's accent when I quoted her. This makes Ellie scream out into even more laughter and Bella to scowl at me. Ellie reaches her palm behind her from the drivers seat and I high five it, laughing along with her even though I really shouldn't be considering Bella is shooting daggers at me.

"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?" She questions, her smile betraying her and taking over her face.

"Nope." I smile at her arrogantly, throwing my hands behind my head.

 _Sorry, Bella, I win._

"Oh, god." Ellie chuckles out as her laughter begins to subside, "you're going to be a fun one to have on tour, my friend." Ellie glances back at me.

"Jesus, you guys better not team up and roast me every chance you get." Bella rubs her hands over her face in exasperation.

"Oh sweetheart, you better get ready. I think Edward and I are going to be real close." Ellie snickers evilly and we high five with gusto. I already know that we're going to do a great job of making fun of Bella and pranking her any chance we get.

"Don't worry babe, it's all out of love." I extend out of my seat and wrap my head around hers, placing a kiss on her pout.

Mid-conversation with Ellie, I see that we've arrived at the hotel, and the valet opens my door. Bella and I say goodnight to Ellie due to the hours of travelling that have made us ready for sleep, and a lot of it. Our room was nice, with a bedroom and kitchen/living area and a great view of Perth.

Bella heads out to the balcony to make a call to Rose and Emmett back home and tell them we've arrived safe and sound, so I practically run to the shower, eager to wash the smell of airplane off me. As I massage soap across my body, I notice that my muscles are less tense than they used to be. Whether I realized it or not, I was definitely anxious about meeting Bella's friends and her ex-boyfriend. But now, having met and instantly bonded with Ellie, I now am not as worried about meeting these people. She was funny, relaxed, friendly, and somebody who I didn't feel the need to be fake around. I now have hope that the rest of the people on the tour will be like her.

I shut the water off, wrap a towel around my waist, and step out of the shower, stopping mid step when I see Bella sitting on the countertop watching me with absolutely nothing on.

Absolutely. Nothing.

She smirks at me as I ogle her in shock, my tongue incapable of moving, making me go mute.

"You know," she starts, pulling her hair over her shoulder, "we're about to be on a tour bus for a few weeks living with other people." She states, focusing on me as I'm still frozen in shock, so turned on I can't speak or move. "Because of that, it might be a few days till we can find alone time and you can touch me." She pouts, her eyes going dark.

Without another word, I break out of my haze and transform into some kind of alpha male set on tackling its prey. In a flash, my towel is released from my hand and Bella is lifted and pressed against the bathroom door. Our hands are everywhere, intently focused on touching every surface and memorizing its every curve and lift so we don't dare forget the feeling of our bodies after a few days. A few days without sex was normal for couples, but for Bella and I that was a severe drought. Moving to the bedroom, we lose ourselves in each other, over and over again, until our bodies can't do any more but collapse upon each other. Both Bella and I's eyes fall closed as we lie in each other's arms, connected as ever.

Tomorrow, at eleven in the morning, I was going to meet these people that have been on my mind for weeks now. For all I know, they could hate me, but they also could be people I would see as friends. No matter how many times Bella tells me that we're all one big family and that everybody's excited to have a new member, my mind won't stop worrying about the possibility that they won't like me or I won't like them. Above all, despite my knowledge of Bella's love for me, I can't shake the worry that itches every inch of me.

No matter what, nothing will silence the thought of the possibility that Bella will see Matty, old feelings will arise, and she'll realize that she wants to be with him. At this point, even though they've seen each other many times since breaking up, my mind cannot dismiss this idea and it's been haunting me since the day I signed on to be a part of this tour. The mixture of the worried, exhausting thoughts, multiple rounds of sex, and jet lag force my brain and heart to slow and send me into a deep, deep sleep.

That night I dreamt the same thing over and over. I walk into an empty concert venue and see all the crew and band members Bella's told me about countless times, but not a single one looks or even notices me. I continue to walk, asking where I am, but nobody ever hears or sees me. I head forward until I stop mid step and see Bella on Matty's lap, burrowing and giggling into his neck as they sit together with the rest of the band. None of the band has faces since I don't even know what Matty or the band looks like, but Bella has a face, and it's smiling when she's with him. All at once, they all turn to look at me, and even though Matty, Adam, Ross, and George don't have faces, I know the second it begins that they're laughing at me. I burst out of the venue to the road and am blinded by the bright sun, but not enough to not see the faces I know so well standing in the middle of traffic staring at me, emotionless, their hands firmly knotted.

In the back, looking out the window of the building behind them, I see my mother, crying.

In a split second, it finishes and all goes black, but never for long enough.

This dream haunted me and repeated the whole night.

* * *

 **Don't you just love a good cliffie? ;)**

 **As I said above, another chapter is on its way. Keep your eyes peeled!**

 **There's only one visual for this chapter, so check it out if you want to see what Ellie looks like! And for those who don't know, Ellie Roswell is an actual person and is legitimately the lead singer of the band Wolf Alice, who is friends with and opens for The 1975 in real life.**

 **I'll talk to you guys soon, I promise!**

 **xx, S**


	33. And So It Begins

**A/N: Hi! Hope everyone in America is having a good Indigenous Peoples Day (Sorry, I will never honor Columbus).**

 **Here's the next chapter... Tour has officially begun. As some of you may know, I've been touring with musicians since I was little so this has been a really fun chapter to write. Everything I'm writing about it is purely from personal experience, just adapted for the story!**

 **There are TONS of visuals for this chapter, which is great. I've included pictures of Adam, Ross, Sam, Mark, the bus, etc. Also, all characters on The 1975 tour that are mentioned actually exist. Adam and Ross's description and personalities are exactly the same as them in real life, and the same goes for the rest of the crew.**

 **Also, I'm including a link of a video called On The Road with Wolf Alice. This is a video BBC Radio 1 created during Wolf Alice's tour and they go through the tour bus, everyday tour life, etc. They're interesting to watch because it's like you're watching what's happening in the story, and I can attest that it's an actual, realistic depiction of what tour life is like.**

 **Keep your eyes peeled once Angus and Bella go on tour, because there's a mini tour documentary Angus & Julia Stone made about their tour, whom many of you know are who Bella and Angus were modeled off of. **

**That will be really cool for you all to see because it will be just like you're watching an interview with Bella and her everyday life on tour. That will be posted once the Fleetwood Mac tour begins.**

 **For now, enjoy this... Review and check out visuals! Visuals of George, Matty, and Jamie. O will come when we meet them next chapter.**

 **xx,**

 **S**

 **BAND MEMBERS FOR REFERENCE:**

 **Ross: Bassist**

 **Adam (Hann): Guitarist**

 **George: Drummer**

 **Matty: Lead Vocals and Guitar**

 **John:** **Saxophonist**

 **Jamie (Esquire): Keyboardist**

 **Jamie (Oborne): Head manager**

* * *

BPOV

A loud shout of my name followed by a series of yells and cheers ripples throughout the parking lot of The Richardson hotel, lined with eight tour buses and two trucks, in Perth, Australia at 11:20 in the morning. I had just wrapped my meeting with the light engineers and was heading down to the parking lot to meet up with everyone and wait for Edward. I can practically hear the poor guests tossing in their beds from the volume we're making. At this point, I couldn't care less about the guests in the hotel because I was now running full force towards a group of men I call my brothers. I first launch myself into Ross's arms, as he scoops me up, his elated laughter warming my ears. Before I can even think, I burst from Ross's arms and practically tackle Hann with the strongest hug I can muster. Next is all of the band members of Wolf Alice, John, Jamie Esquire, James Booth, and all the other members of The 1975 team that I know and love. By that time, I'm smiling so hard it hurts after bear hugging the whole 72-person crew for The 1975, all of Wolf Alice, Ross, and Adam, I take a step back and look at them all, feeling as if I'm going to cry. Even though I'm not as close to some of the crew as I am with Matty, Adam, Jamie, Ross, George, John, and Wolf Alice, I'm still insanely happy to see each and every person on this tour. Looking at them all, it feels as if I'm seeing my family again for the first time in ages.

After saying our hellos, everyone returns to loading in and getting ready to leave, and Ross and Adam come over and we hug for probably the four hundredth time, colossally happy to see each other. They're both my brothers.

"God," Ross starts, "Matty, George, and Jamie can't wait to see you. They're meeting us at the venue in a few hours."

"I know, I got the laydown from Ellie when she surprised Edward and I at the airport last night." I say

"Oh my god, back up, I forgot that we haven't talked about this." Hann says, throwing his arms to the side in shock. Ross looks at me the same way.

"About what?" I question

"Um, I don't know, maybe the fact that since the last time we saw you, which was only a couple of months ago, you just happened to fall in love with the world's most in demand actor of the decade." Ross harshly whispers, making sure people can't hear.

God, it's going to be hard to act like I'm just friends with Edward when we're around everybody. For now, it seems like these next few weeks Edward and I will be spending a lot of the time either with the band or in the tour bus where we can both be a couple.

I laugh to myself, thinking about how crazy it really is. Just a few months ago, I was a different person. Everything's changed.

Before I can fill them in on everything, I see Hann's glance drift over my shoulder and his eyes widen massively. Ross and I follow his gaze, and I turn to look over my shoulder and see Edward exiting the hotel walking towards us with his bags and a smile. I match his smile and wink at him discreetly. He heads over to us after dropping his bags off to be loaded on the van, instinctively smiling at Hann and Ross. For a second, I completely forgot that Edward had to act as if he was a good friend of the whole band, even though none of them have even met each other.

Thank god he's a good actor.

"How are you, man?" Ross exclaims as he and Hann take a few steps to meet Edward and they exchange manly hugs

"I'm great now that I'm back with you guys." Edward begins to walk back to the bus, towards where I was just standing with Ross and Adam.

As they continue to converse as if they're best friends, I survey the crew that's watching the exchange. It's clear that pretty much all of them recognize Edward, but after that first shock of seeing him, most have gone back to what they were doing.

Knowing that most people's attention has shifted from Edward, I approach them and wave at Edward.

"Hey, how are you?" Edward and I exchange what would be a casual hug between close acquaintances for most people, but to Edward and I, it felt as formal as a stiff handshake.

"Good, thank you, it's so funny that you happen to know this crazy bunch." I say, shaking my fingers through Hann's hair like he's my little brother. "I had no idea you'd be on this tour as well."

"I didn't either," Edward responds, "I just spoke to these guys a week ago and they invited me on this leg. I had some time off, so I said why not."

"Well, we're glad to have you. Do you know what bus you'll be on?" I ask, already knowing that his bunk "just happened" to be directly next to mine on the same bus.

"Um, I think bus 6 with the crew."

"Oh, really?" I exclaim in mock surprise. "I'm on that bus as well, I can show you where it is, if you'd like, so you can get settled." I offer, hoping that if any of the crew was catching bits of pieces of our conversation, they wouldn't suspect the fact that Edward and I had rehearsed this conversation in bed the night before.

"That would be great, thanks. You guys want to come?" Edward turns to Hann and Ross, cueing them to say yes and follow his lead.

"Of course, we need to catch up." Hann says, following along with Edward, and heads with us to the bus. As I'm about to round the corner towards the lot where our bus is parked, out of sight from the crew and everyone else, I catch Ellie, Theo, and Joff laughing hysterically at our whole scripted conversation, all three of them knowing that the whole scene was bullshit.

"What?" I mouth to them, throwing my hands up slightly. I love them but they can be worse than an older brother that makes fun of your every move sometimes.

"You're a shit actor." Ellie mouths back before laughing even harder with Theo and Joff.

Rolling my eyes, I inconspicuously flip them off and turn to the bus.

Edward, Hann, Ross, and I are silent until I get on the bus first, sweeping to make sure no one else was on here. Once I know it's clear, I motion for them to come on the bus and shut the door behind us swiftly. The second we all hear the click of the door closing and we know we're free to be ourselves. We let out an exasperated breath and begin to laugh at ourselves.

"Dude, when you started waving at us, I completely forgot that we were supposed to act as if we knew each other and was so fucking confused." Ross laughs, flopping down on the couch and opening up a bottle of water.

"I know, I'm so sorry that was a really weird way for us to meet each other but I can't thank you guys enough for playing along and going with it." Edward sits on the opposite couch, all of us still chuckling about the completely odd experience we just had.

"How was your meeting?" Edward turns to me, reaching his hand out and pulling me down on the couch next to him.

"Great, actually. The light engineers are by far the best I've ever worked with. These shows will be insane." I answer excitedly.

"Hell yeah they'll be." Hann bumps my fist from across the couch.

"Oh," I pipe up. "Now that we can actually be ourselves and I can actually introduce you, Edward, this is Hann and Ross. Hann and Ross, this is Edward."

"It's a pleasure to _officially_ meet you guys," Edward chuckles, shaking both their hands. "Bella hasn't shut up about you two and the rest of the band since we both decided to jump on tour." Edward flashes his smile that always makes me weak in the knees and Ross and Hann return an equally elated smile.

Every time I have Edward meet somebody close to me, I am always so damn proud to call him mine. He's gracious, comfortable, and so easily adapted to his surroundings. "It's incredible to be able to meet you as well," Hann starts. "I speak for the whole band and, well, everyone here when I say I'm a massive fan of your work." My heart is swelling as I watch two of my "brothers" finally meet the man I love. "We're so happy to have you, Edward." Ross smiles his cheeky smile that has been the cause of security having to pull massive amounts of girls out of the crowd from fainting.

"Hey, you can ask Bella, my friends, sister, and I have been big fans of you guys for awhile now. I'm truthfully honored to meet you guys." Edward grins sweetly.

Hann and Ross's eyes widen exponentially at Edward's comment and their smiles spread even wider.

"So, guess we'll have to get used to the weirdness of encounters like those." I say, motioning back to where Edward and I had to act as if we somewhat knew each other. That's something I'll have to get adjusted to.

"You know, I've played massive amounts of different people in my life, and playing your work colleague was by far the weirdest character I've ever had to play." Edward states.

"It's okay, there won't be many times that you'll be around crew that you don't know well and have to act as just friends around. For the most part you'll just be around us and the rest of the band, who you are of course free to be yourselves around." Just as Ross finishes his sentence, we hear the click of the door handle of the to the van and Edward and I instantly separate and go to other ends of the couch.

Right then, the door opens to reveal Mark, the tour manager, and Sam, the art director who I work closely with. "Don't worry, it's just us." Mark says before taking a place on the couch along with Sam who slings his arm around my shoulder. I've known both Sam and Mark for as long as I've known the boys so they know all about Edward and I. I remember when I first had feelings for Edward and didn't know what to do with them, I called Mark, who's like a father to me, and cried to him for hours. "Hey, Edward, I'm Sam." Like typical Sam, he's with a smile on his face and as friendly as can be. Edward looks warily at me, and I can tell he's irked about Sam's closeness to me and his protective arm tightky around me.

"Don't worry, babe, Mark and Sam know about us. Sam here is the art director and Matty's flatmate; he's one of my closest friends. And Mark's the tour manager so one the most important people on this tour and he's also like a dad to everyone; he keeps us all in line. They're our busmates." I can visibly see Edward untense and let out his breath. "Don't worry, son, I'm totally chill with all you dudes." Mark slaps a hand on Edward's shoulder, causing me to giggle at Mark's attempt to act young.

"Mark, you're a father of two and fifty-five years old." Sam deadpans.

"Hey, just because I'm not in my twenties like all you kids doesn't mean I can't try to be." He quips, right before his radio goes off and he has to run back to work. "We're pulling out of here in an hour, kiddos. It was wonderful to meet you Edward and I can't wait to speak to you more." Like that, Mark is on the run. There isn't a moment when that man isn't busy.

"You're holding up well, man, for having to meet all these people who are quite protective over Bella like I am while also having to hide to the rest of the crew that you're with her." Sam remarks. "I would be crazy overwhelmed."

We continue talking, catching up, and bonding for another half an hour before one of the roadies delivers our suitcase containing our bedding. Sam heads back to finish up some work, Hann and Ross go back to their bus to get ready to leave, and Edward and I start making our bunks. As we're doing so, the last two of our busmates, who are also close friends and people I trust with knowing about Edward and I, file in and it already feels like we're one big family. I'm really close with everyone on our bus, but a part of me was worried that they would be cold to Edward. Every male member of this tour is like a big brother to me and can be very protective; they were even protective of me when I was with Matty, who they know extremely well and work for. Thankfully, the four people living on the bus with us have been incredibly welcoming of Edward and respectful of our relationship and privacy. As each one of them entered the bus while Edward and I were making our bunks, it felt more and more like as if I was returning to summer camp, and by Edward's smile I can tell he feels the same way.

"Take off in five, my friends." Mark's voice comes over the radio system connected between all eight tour buses. For some reason my stomach flips at those words.

Even though Matty and I are long over and I'm with Edward now, a part of me is anxious about seeing him. Since I've been busy working with Edward and other artists for awhile now, I haven't seen Matty since a little while after we broke up. Also, another part of me is worried about Edward too; I'm scared he'll be made uncomfortable about all of this even though he said he wouldn't be. No matter who you are, meeting your girlfriend's ex isn't the most comfortable of interactions.

As I hear the bus begin to rumble, I take a seat next to Edward on the couches in the main cabin of the bus. Once everyone else is unpacked, Mark, Sam, and our two other busmastes John and Will come to join us and I'm ecstatic to see that they're chatting with Edward, sharing common interests, and asking him questions. Considering the circumstances, things are going incredibly well for a tight knit group of people meeting somebody who they don't know and are going to live with for the next couple of weeks.

There's a massive amount of traffic throughout the city so it takes us an hour and a half to drive about 20 miles.

"We're already here?" Edward asks in surprise.

"Don't get used to it- most of our drives are 10 hours or more." John says, slapping Edward on the shoulder before he, along with Mark and Sam, head back to get their stuff ready.

I breathe a sigh of relief as they leave. I silently prayed to myself the whole drive that they wouldn't start any conversation with me. Since they're the people closest to me on the tour besides the band, they would know that my mind is off in space in a second. The whole ride, I pretended to be infatuated by the Australian landscape passing by, but that was just a cover up for the fact that I was stressing over the fact that I'm seeing Matty again and most of all that he's meeting Edward. Matty and Edward are two very kind, similar souls who I have always thought would get along and click instantly, but now that they're actually meeting in about five minutes, I'm starting to panic.

I must've spoken too soon about thinking that nobody noticed that I'm not my carefree self right now, because right then, Edward turns to me once it's just us in the main cabin. "You were so quiet that whole ride; what's wrong?" He asks, tucking a hair behind my ear.

"I don't know," I breathe out heavily, "I just am worried that you'll be uncomfortable meeting Matty because this obviously is an odd situation, and I am feeling extremely guilty because a part of me feels like I pushed you in to this." I'm twiddling the stacks of rings on my fingers nervously.

"Hey, hey, hey," He scooches closer to me so our noses are practically touching. "Of course this is weird for me and probably for you as well, but that's normal. To be honest with you, from all the people I've already met, I'm actually excited to meet Matty and everybody else because if they're anything like Ross, Adam, Sam, Mark, and everyone else I've met so far, then I know I'll enjoy their company just as much as I enjoy everyone else's." He places his index finger under my chin, lifting my eyes to meet his. "You also must've forgotten that as an actor I manage a team of a multitude of people who work for me. With my job, I have to make difficult decisions everyday so therefore I'm not afraid of saying no. Trust me when I say that if I didn't want to do this, I would've told you I didn't. You by no means pushed me into anything, okay?" His eyes are skipping over my face, pleading for me to understand.

"Okay." I say. A large part of me felt a lot better, but I don't think this anxiety will go away until it actually happens and Matty and Edward meet.

"Good. Now let's put on "we're only acquaintances" faces and head into the venue." All eight of our buses pull into the designated backstage parking of the venue right after we pass by the front of the theater that has "THE 1975- TONIGHT" on the front.

"So, when I see Matty and George, I should act the same way I did when I saw Ross and Hann?" Edward asks, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as I grab my camera bag and everything else I need for the show.

"Yup, you don't know what they look like, right?"

"Nope." He answers

"Okay, I'll subtly point them out when we get in the venue and you do your thing from there. According to everybody, except for those who already know we're together and you've have already met, you are a friend of the band's who they invited to come on tour and hang out." I assure him.

"Got it." Edward jokingly puts on his "actor face" and I exit the bus first with Edward behind me and enter the venue.

* * *

 **So... What do you guys think of the interactions? Do you think Bella's worries about Edward and Matty will become valid? What do you think of the new characters so far?**

 **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review and look at the visuals! Finding visuals can take hours at a time so make sure to check them out!**

 **The new chapter is already in the process of being written, so it won't be too long till that's posted. Get ready to meet Matty!**

 **Talk very soon.**

 **xoxo,**

 **S**


	34. Scholars & Poets

**A/N:**

 **Hi you guys... As many know, I live in America so to say my world has been rocked would be an understatement. I know that many people have different views or standpoints, but for me I struggled through today, not wanting to get out of bed, wandering around the whole day with a dark cloud over me, and getting home and crying in my bed. For those of you who feel the same way as I do about this, I'm here for you and we can get through this together if we unite and preach love.**

 **Speaking of love, I knew the thing that would make me happiest is getting another chapter about these two lovebirds posted. You all finally get to meet Matty yourselves and experience tour life.**

 **Funnily enough, I just saw The 1975 for the 4th time in the past 5 months this Saturday; their show never fails to stun me. Also, I head back on tour with 2 musician friends next week and will be touring across the Northeast. Tour always provides inspiration for new chapters, and it definitely will this time considering we're at the part of the story when the two main characters are on tour as well.**

 **Anyways, I'll stop talking now.**

 **Visuals of Matty, George, the whole band, and a clip of the song they play live are all posted. Check them out!**

 **REVIEW, PLEASE!**

 **xo, S**

* * *

EPOV

The grip against my bag tightens right after I catch myself reaching to walk up to Bella. She's speed walking ahead of me and the impulse to put my hand around her waist and lead her into the venue is scarily strong.

 _It's going to take awhile to get used to not being able to show an ounce of affection to Bella for a few hours a day._

"Alright, alright, alright, you ready to officially begin your first day as a roadie?" Ross says to me, walking alongside Adam carrying their belongings.

It was fascinating to meet Adam and Ross and see what they looked like for the first time, because their looks perfectly matched Bella's description of their personalities.

Adam was of average height and skinny, with a narrow face and light blonde hair. He carries himself in a peaceful, quiet way, almost looking like he's an intellectual who is pondering the meaning of life. Although he's quiet, once you speak to him he's always willing to have a conversation. I can totally see why Bells would spend hours each morning on tour just talking about life with him.

Ross, on the other hand, is quite tall, stacking up to be about 6' 4" with dark brown hair. He has a relaxed, but affectionate, manner and can put a smile on anyone's face just by cracking a joke.

All the buses pulled in at the same time, so everyone is walking over to the back entrance of the venue together. From here, I can get a good look at how many hands really go into this show. As we walk together, I see well over sixty people who aren't in the band but are a part of the tour; I always knew that making movies required a massive amount of crew members due to the complexities behind moviemaking, but I never knew that it required this many people to put on a two hour show with a six-person band.

As we near the door to the venue, Hann places a small, card-sized laminate in my hand. "This is your all access pass for this tour. If you show it to anybody at any venue on the tour, you can get in. Without it, you won't be allowed in so make sure to always have it with you." I clip the shiny laminate with the band's logo and "THE 1975 ALL ACCESS 2016 FALL TOUR" on the pocket of my jeans. Crew members start filing through the back door, loading in hundreds of black boxes that have the band's logo spray painted on the sides.

"What's in those?" I ask

"Those are the pieces of our set. You'll see it tonight, but we have a large LED screen in the back with 3 LED rectangles on the stage as well. All our visuals that are designed and executed by Sam get displayed on them and there's a different set for every song." Ross answers as I watch these numerous human-sized boxes get moved into the venue like a conveyor belt.

"I just got a text from Matty and he and George are just messing around on stage rehearsing and said we're free to join in." Hann says, turning to Ross.

"I'm game." Ross replies. "Edward," Ross lowers his voice to silence it to the people around us "Bella's running in and going to say hello to Jamie, Matty, and George and get some shots of this rehearsal. Just come in with us so you can say hi to Matty and George, then you can watch the rehearsals or do whatever you want." Adam remarks and I proceed to follow them into the venue casually.

"Don't worry, man. Matty's chill about the situation and I already know you'll fit right in with all of us. Trust me." Ross comments, and disappears into the venue with Adam to get ready for rehearsal.

Bella wasn't exaggerating when she said these people become your family quicker than you ever thought possible. I've only met half of the band and spent a total of two hours with them and I feel a closer connection with them than I do with some actors I've worked on two or more movies with.

The felling within me, though, is an odd one to place. As much as the whole thing about the band already becoming like family is true, there is still a barrier between the band and I. The bottom line is that The 1975 team has always known Bella as Matty's girlfriend, and now I'm entering into that situation as the boyfriend. Even if I get close to all four of them, the bottom line is that I will always be separate from the group, and that's a weird thing to know when trying to begin a friendship with a group of people.

As the heavy back doors of the venue swing open, I'm met by the pounding of heavy base and guitar riffs. Discreetly following behind Bella, I find my way into one of the dressing rooms and throw my stuff down. Bella's the only one in there with me, but I continue to put space and silence between us just to be safe. Just as I begin to head out of the dressing room to find the main stage and get into character and "meet" Matty and George, Bella brushes past me with her camera in hand.

"I'm going to get a few shots of this rehearsal, so just walk next to me and I'll point out George and Matty." Bella says softly as I begin to follow her out to the main stage. Walking behind her, she has an apparent hop in her step as she heads to reunite with the people who I know mean the most to her. As I round the corner, the first thing that comes into sight is the floor and balcony above it that will soon be packed with fans. As of now, the only people occupying the floor and balconies are the sound managers setting up their equipment.

Turning to the left so I'm looking on to the stage from the side, I see the massive light fixtures waiting to be lifted and 3 rectangles getting rolled out on stage. Adam is closest to me, fiddling with his pedals and tuning his guitar and Ross is next to him doing the same with his bass.

"Matty's up front, George is at the drums." Bella mumbles before taking off onto the stage to practically tackle George and Matty. I see the back of George first, because Bella's sprinting towards him like a linebacker.

"GEORGINA!" Bella screams

George whips around and his face lights up like a sports stadium at night. He shoots up from his drum set to reveal his height and muscular build. Bella really described him perfectly; he reminded me of Emmett in the way that at first glance they appear intimidating to some, but after a second you see they're like a teddy bear. George is wearing a tank top that shows off the tattoos stretching across his arms, and black jeans with extra drumsticks sticking out of his pockets.

Once Bella reaches George, she practically mauls him and he lifts her up, spinning her around; it was sweet watching Bella and George's relationship instead of just hearing about it through stories.

I suddenly remember that I'm supposed to act like bros with them and not just stand there, so I approach George just as Bella escapes his grasp and begins to run toward Matty who's downstage. "Holy shit, look who it is." George says, smiling just as widely as he did when he saw Bella and he gives me a bro-hug, slapping me on the back. "We're happy to have you here, man. Great to finally meet you." George says quietly, just so I can hear him. I pull away when I hear a heavy English accent shout out, "Who the fuck let her in here?" My head whips to the right to see what must be Matty, joking with Bella as they separate from a hug.

"My bad, she's just a crazy ass Australian fan who broke through security." George chimes in humorously.

Matty was about average height and skinny, like Adam. To be honest, he looked exactly opposite of me. His persona screamed British Rockstar, with his messy, but styled black hair shaved on the sides and high fashion, eclectic, but minimalist style. He many tattoos like the other band members, with the 1975's logo, "love", a deer, and many other designs and quotes scattered around covering his arms. Poking out of the hem and collar of his t-shirt, I notice a large chest tattoo as well and one on the left side of his hip, poking out slightly from the waistband of his skinny black jeans.

 _What if Bella got one of her tattoos with him? What if one of his tattoos is about her?_

My insecurity is starting to permeate my mental state; I know that none of Bella's tattoos have nothing to do with him since I've seen them all and know their meaning, but how do I know that Bella's face isn't tattooed on his ass?

 _Not now, Edward._

I continue following my lead and step down from the drum platform on to the stage and head towards Matty, trying my hardest to not show that the image of Bells and Matty smiling and hugging gutted me. Shit, this really sucks more than I thought.

 _Fuck, this is awkward._

"What's up, man?" Matty says, pulling me into a bro-hug like George did. The hug is tense and awkward as we both are probably thinking the same thing:

 _We both are, or have been, in love with the same girl standing right next to us. Shit._

"How've you been?" I respond, returning back to the role I have to play right now.

"Same old, touring nonstop. What about you?" He responds. Thankfully, after we got past the initial uncomfortable introduction, the air began to lighten up.

"I just wrapped Scarlet, which I know I've already rambled on to you about, and I head out to work on another project soon, then begin press tour for Scarlet once we wrap that."

I continue chatting with the boys and watch as Bella interacts with them in the sweetest way. Just by observation, it's glaringly clear that it's like they all were separated at birth. The way George pinches her waist causing her to squirm and yelp while she's talking with us, how Ross and Bella bicker on the side as I continue my conversation with the rest of the band, everything they do reinforces what Bella told me: they're her brothers and mean the world to her.

"Is that who I think it is?" A husky English voice causes us to turn to the figure entering the venue and approaching us.

I can't decipher the figure, and I watch as Bella squints her eyes trying to figure out the black figure walking towards us. The second this blonde, tall, probably late-30s man steps into the light, Bella dashes off the stage and tackles him in a hug. "Bella!" 2 high, joyous voices come from where this man entered and I see a girl at around the age of 5 and a boy around the age of 8 sprinting towards Bella's arms. She squeals and squats down, encompassing the two kids into a massive hug, tears of happiness practically escaping their eyes.

"Bu-but, you said they couldn't come - they had school!" Bella gasps out at the man in a mixture of shock and joy.

"You really think these two would actually allow me to get on a plane to go see you without them coming along with me? They have a week long break and I took them out of school for a few days. Plus, they wanted to surprise you; they were practically pissing themselves planning the surprise on the plane ride here." The man explains.

"Yeah," Matty takes a step over to the kids, each one straddling Bella's leg, and shakes his fingers through their hair, causing a chorus of giggles. "These two wouldn't shut up about how excited they were to see you, Bella."

Once again, Bella wraps this man, who is still a mystery to me, in a tight hug.

"Hey, Edward! How are you, man?" The man's eyes lift to me and he walks and greets me just as the other boys did. I respond as naturally as I could, but I still have no clue who he is. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion at Bella, who mouths the name "Jamie!" to me.

 _Shit. Of course that's Jamie, idiot._

"I'm great, it's so great to see you again" I slap my hand on his back before we pull away, "And I believe these two were too young to go to concerts the last time I saw you all." I step away from Jamie and crouch down next to Jamie's kids, who are sheepishly looking at me through their eyelashes, his daughter blushing profusely just like my Bella. "So, I don't believe I've met you two before." I stick out my hand slowly to them. "Hi, I'm Edward."

The son is first to stick out his tiny hand and place it in mine. Next, the daughter does the same, timidly blushing.

"Alex, Caroline, this is Edward, a friend of mine and the bands'. Can you say hello?"

"Hello." Alex, the son, mumbles with a small smile.

"Hi." Caroline follows, slightly inching behind her brother, poking her eye out from behind his arm and watching me with a apprehensive smile.

"They're a bit shy when they first meet new people, but trust me, within an hour they'll be _plenty_ comfortable around you." Jamie reassures, throwing a wink at me.

"So, you guys," I start, relaxed and smiling at the kids in hopes of breaking their shell, "are you excited to finally be big enough to go on tour with the boys?" I ask, chuckling when Caroline and Alex's eyes light up.

"Oh, yes," Caroline jumps from behind and suddenly the shy Caroline and shy Alex were gone. "Did you know that we even have our own all access VIP passes? Look!" Caroline takes the same pass that I have and sticks it under my nose.

"Woah!" I gasp in mock-amazement. "I'm not even cool enough to have one of those!"

"It's okay, I can tell you're cool so I'll have my Dad give you one." Alex states, causing me to smile widely.

My look shifts to Jamie who's chuckling at our encounter along with the rest of the band looking on.

"Come on, kiddos, just because you're not in school doesn't mean you don't have homework." Jamie says as he and I stand and the kids let out a groan.

"But Daaad! We want to play with Bella!" Caroline whines. "Yeah and I want to show Edward my Lego set!" Alex adds on.

"Hey, tell you what." Bella jumps in, "I actually have to get some work done and photograph the boys' rehearsal, but once I finish my work I can hang out with you guys okay?" Bella says.

"Yeah, and I promise to looks at your Lego set and play with you guys, but not until you get your homework done, okay?" I contribute.

"Okay! Lets go then, Alex, so we can play with Edward and Bella!" Caroline squeals, and just like that, the kids burst backstage to do their homework so fast it's like they were told that Candy Land was right around the corner.

I laugh as Jamie follows after them back to the tour bus, turning back to me and mouthing "THANK YOU!" to Bella and I, holding his hands up to the sky, praising god. I head to walk off the stage and watch the rest of the rehearsal, but I approach Matty who's working on his guitar pedals first. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you," I say quietly so no one around us will hear, stuffing my hands in my pockets sheepishly. "For what?" Matty slightly cocks his head to the side in curiosity.

"For letting me come with Bella on the tour and being willing to help us hide what's going on between us for a little while longer. I know it all probably sounds weird, I just wanted to accompany Bella since I had the time off anyways, and with my life and my job, I would never want the media to find out about us without us announcing it ourselves when we're both ready." I explain truthfully.

"No, it doesn't sound weird." He says. "Look, we both know that Bella and I have a long history, and I would be lying if I said I didn't still care about her deeply, but I can tell you love her and you make her happy, so I just want to make sure that the fact we both care about the same person doesn't divide us. We're a family here, as you can tell, and you're officially a part of that now." Matty explains.

I wasn't expecting all of that to come out of his mouth, to be honest. I expected him to be cordial, but not really want anything to do with me, which would be understandable; I am just Bella's newish boyfriend who's tagging along on the tour. Matty was strikingly accepting, much more than I was when I first heard about all of this.

"I couldn't agree more, man. I appreciate it." I reach out and squeeze his arm in thanks, and he responds with a smile before turning to George on the drums and counting off.

I instantly recognize they begin playing one of my favorites, _If I Believe You._

Suddenly, it all goes black and the rectangles in the back start to shine a bright white as the beginning of the song begins to vibrate the whole venue. I watch in amazement as they flow through the song, an eclectic mix of their music with sporadic interruptions of a choir that cue every light to begin flashing. Every few verses, my eyes search for Bella, as she scatters herself around the stage, capturing the incredible lights of the show from every angle. They continue with a few more songs, each one just as awe-inspiring as the previous one. "That's all for now, everyone lay back and take an hour for lunch." Matty announces into his microphone. Mark shares the message through his walkie-talkie to the crew, and the house begins to fill with the team emerging from their work.

After placing their instruments down, the band hops off stage and heads towards me, chatting with Bella who looks like she's raving about the shots she got. "Seriously, this new light setup is some next-level shit. It makes all the photos, and the show itself, so dynamic and thought-provoking." I hear Bella chime excitingly as they get to me.

"But the question is," George begins, "does it have the Edward Cullen stamp of approval?" They all turn to look at me and I stand there emotionless.

"Yeah, it was bearable, I guess." I deadpan, looking back at them. The boys' eyebrows twitch together in confusion, and Bella coughs uncomfortably. Just before the tension and silence becomes unbearable, I break into a small smile, letting out a chuckle at their puzzled looks.

"You asshole!" Bella hisses and subtly, but strongly, punches me in the gut causing me to buckle over slightly.

The boys let out their held breath, laughing in relief aside me. "Look, man, we've gotten shit reviews before, but I thought if you hated it you'd sugar coat it a tiny bit considering we're friends and all." Hann says.

"Did you see his delivery? Edward, man, I was thoroughly convinced you thought it was the worst show you'd ever seen." Ross notes.

"No shit, Ross, he's like the world's most famous actor." Matty says, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, fuck off mate." Ross quips back, narrowing his eyes.

"I've always wanted a brother…" I note, watching the humorous exchange.

"Really? Well, you just got four." George slings his arm around me, pulling the group towards the back door. We head to what I assume is the band's tour bus, and climb aboard. Understandably, the band's tour bus was far more extravagant than ours, with their lunch displayed beautifully across the bus's kitchen counter. "Ah, so many memories in this bus. I've missed you, Fern." Bella slaps the side of the bus, looking around nostalgically.

"Fern?" I question.

"Ah, yeah, our bus's name is Fern." Ross says with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Why Fern?"

"Because why _not_ Fern?"

"Touché"

I grab my lunch and sit across from Bella, making sure the distance between us is enough. Hann looks at me sitting next to him and nudges me. "Dude, not that I'm not ecstatic and flattered that you chose to sit next to me, obviously making me the favorite, but this is just our bus. You and Bells can act normal now, no one else lives on this bus besides us."

"Shit, I forgot." I remark, "But I'm quite happy sitting here with you, Hann." I playfully rest my head on his shoulder.

"HAH! Who's the A-List couple now, bitches." Hann shouts and points at Bella, who's scowling in between Matty and Ross.

"But baby, what about us? What we had?" Matty whines to Hann.

"Shh, I'll come back to you soon, honey." Hann waves Matty off jokingly.

"So," I start, acknowledging the strikingly tight, brotherly relationship they all have, "how did you all meet?"

"At school, actually. We were young and shit at sports and into music. Hann came up to me at school one day when we were 14 or so and asked I wanted to play in a band. We lost and gained members until we created this solid group and became brothers. 13 years later and here we are." Matty describes.

"That's crazy- and you don't get sick of each other?" I comment. Alice and I have gotten so fed up with each other more times than we can count.

"Just as much as siblings do. It's funny, Geroge and I were just talking about how we all are always together and we went through our phone calls and realized that the last time we called each other was four months ago. We've constantly been so close to one another that we haven't even needed to call each other for that long, while most people who work together call each other like a hundred times a day." Matty explains, scoffing at the fact.

"Hah- Jake wishes. I call that guy on an hourly basis even when I'm not traveling." Bella adds before her face lights up. "Shit," she continues "I forgot, I need to get a shot of you guys for today's Instagram." Bella skitters to her camera bag, pulling out one of her lenses. "There's a spot outside that will be good for the background." Bella nods towards the door.

"No problem sis." Ross, Adam, George, and Matty get up and follow Bella out of the bus. Right before the door closes, Bella's head pops in. "Babe, you coming?"

"No," I respond, "You go do your thing, I'm going to finish up a few emails."

"Okay" She smiles and blows me a kiss before shutting the door and heading out with the boys, only to have the door to the tour bus open up once again a few seconds later. I lean my head around and see Jamie enter the bus.

"Oh, hey," he starts, "sorry, I thought the boys were on here." Jamie mentions.

"Oh, no, they just headed out with Bella to get a few shots." I respond. The air was a bit uneasy because we still hadn't officially met each other as our true selves. "I know we haven't officially met since our encounter out there was a bit staged... I just wanted to thank you for playing along." I say, attempting to break the ice.

"Hey, really, it's no problem man." Jamie moves and takes a seat next to me. "Plus, I owe you big time. It's like pulling teeth to get my kids to do their homework and you got them to do it in five seconds. You saved me a temper tantrum, man." Jamie laughs out a sigh.

"I'm glad I made it easier for you, then. They seem like great kids."

"It was beautiful to watch, you know?" Jamie says after a brief hiatus in our conversation.

"What is?"

"You and Bella. I know I don't really know you well, but even when you guys were trying to hide it back there it was clear how happy you make Bella and as far as I can see she makes you happy. Watching you with the kids was super cool, you both will make great parents." Jamie observes, taking a swig of his water. "Oh, sorry," Jamie interjects, pretty much spitting out his water after he realized what he said. "I didn't mean that you and Bella are going to have kids and stuff, I mean, shit, I'm sorry I probably freaked you out. I shouldn't have assum-"

"Jamie-" I cut in, "It's fine. I actually see that in our future, to be perfectly honest I'm not positive if Bella does because I haven't really thought about it till now, but now that I am thinking about that it just kind of..."

"Fits?"

"Yeah, it fits." I smile to myself as I say it. My eye jumps to Jamie who looks as if he's amused or intrigued by something that I'm not seeing.

"What?" I ask, noticing his expression.

"One day soon I'll tell you." This leaves me confused, but before I can even ask what he means, he moves on. "Well, whatever happens, I'm the godfather, okay?"

"Sure thing." I respond, smirking back at him.

Jamie squeezes my shoulder before heading out of the bus, leaving me with my mind circling around that conversation I just had.

Was Jamie right? Is that possible for Bella and I? Just a year ago, I would laugh at people with kids and think they're crazy for ever giving up their freedom to have a child, and now I'm actually considering being one of those people.

To be honest, when Jamie looked at me explain how I feel and was even able to describe it, it excited me and scared me at the same time. Is this how he felt with his wife? All I know right now is that I want to spend as many seconds I have left in this life with Bella. If all continues as it is with us, then that's completely possible.

But, there are things in our future that will make it so we don't continue the way we have. The thing is, I don't want to know. I don't want to know how it will change things, because if I'm being honest with myself, then it doesn't seem that what's to come will make us stronger. There's a good chance it will break us.

Night after night, as Bella's sleeping form steadily inhales and exhales, I tell myself that I have to do it. I owe it to Bella, because if she does see me differently after this then I shouldn't waste her time staying in a relationship with a person who she doesn't really know.

She's bore her soul to me, and I've listened like a hypocrite telling her how important honesty is when I can barely be honest with myself.

It's been months with her, and I'm sick of watching her love someone who she only knows a percentage of.

Scholars and poets claim your past doesn't define you, but it does.

I wish those scholars and poets were right.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry, you guys :(**

 **No good writer creates a story that's all rainbows and sunshine. These next few chapters will be very different, and I'm interested in hearing what you all think.**

 **Leave your input in a review!**

 **Check out the visuals, please, and review and make me smile... I need it.**

 **Love you guys so much and thank you for staying with me.**

 **xoxo,**

 **S**


	35. Step One: The Planning

**A/N:**

 **Not much to say with this one. It's a short intro of what's to come. Sorry if this throws you for a loop...**

 **Part 2 will come when you guys want it, it's written and ready to post so leave a comment if you want it sooner or later.**

 **xo**

* * *

 _"Would you shoot first, or get shot?"_

* * *

11:04 am

It's the third show, we're somewhere in northern Australia, I think. The truth is I lost track and haven't bothered to look at where I am. I've kept my eyes forward, going on with the day as normally as possible, and praying she doesn't see through me. I don't know anything else.

All I know right now is that I need to make my decision.

1:42 pm

It's lunchtime. She sits across from me, giggling with Adam and George but the smile isn't reaching her eyes. She's not dumb; she knows me inside out. Her eyes catch mine from across the catering tent, and I look away, but from the glimpse I knew she knew something was wrong. It's all her looks have been saying, but I've done everything in my power to avoid it. I've gone to bed before the show finishes and pretended to sleep when she comes on the bus and have "happen to have headed out" during every one of her breaks.

I never thought I would feel happy to have to act as if I don't know Bella.

3:27 pm

It has to be me.

Scientists for years have always said that at the end of it all, humans will put survival over anything, so I guess what I'm about to do is natural.

I know I'll get shot if I don't shoot first, and I know Bella's shot would sting. Every shot would ring with the sounds of truth, piercing my ears whispering: "You could have never been enough for her, Edward, and you were ridiculous for thinking you could be."

So, I'm doing what some would call the selfish thing but I am calling necessary.

New Message to: Bells

 _Meet me on the bench by the river outside the venue during your break at 5. -E_

5:04 pm

God, she looks so beautiful. I first saw her long dark hair emerge from the fog, memories of my fingers tangling themselves in it like I'm preforming a piano piece and every strand of hair is a key. She looks as rough as I do; we both know we haven't slept these past 2 days.

I look away. If I look too long ,I'll pull back on my decision and it will be _my_ heart left in pieces.

My eyes zero in on the cracks in the stones beneath my feet. Getting in character for the past hour hasn't been close to enough to prepare me for this.

This would be the hardest role of my life.

I have to play a man who hurts the love of his life.

* * *

 **A/N: Let me know when you want part 2.**

 **xx, S**


	36. Step Two: The Execution

**A/N: Hi old friends and new!**

 **Thank you for the amazing response last chapter. I read through the reviews on my birthday and it really made my day ever better! I'm also so happy to see more people are finding this story and enjoying it. Welcome!**

 **I won't talk long since I know there's probably a bunch of anticipation, but I do have a question for you guys.**

 **As I said in the first few chapters, the majority of this story is based upon my life and I will be posting a run through of the real people behind every characters and the real story behind every single chapter. I'm thinking I'll post that as an epilogue whenever I wrap up this story, or would you like to see it sooner? Let me know in the reviews.**

 **Enjoy & leave a review!**

 **xx, S**

* * *

Fog swallows up Bella, whether the fog is from the weather or my brain I do not know. She gets closer and closer, walking towards me, until she's perfectly visible and standing inches from me.

I glance up at her and she's looking down at me, eyes dark and puffy from lack of sleep. The look on her face expresses everything that I fear: abandonment and sorrow.

I place the Camel firmly between my teeth, almost crushing the filter from the tension in my jaw. I inhale deeply, the embers at the tip of the cigarette lighting up as I continue to darken.

"We got on tour three days ago." Bella states, her voice croaky. "The first day you were happy, spending time with everyone, then you shut off and became this." She waves her hand in front of her, motioning to me sitting on a bench, baseball hat on, hood up, chain smoking.

"I've tracked you down every free second I've gotten and you're always gone. You've left me in the dark."

My tongue doesn't seem to work; all my body knows to do right now is lift my right hand to my mouth, place the Camel in my mouth, inhale, exhale.

And that's what I do.

"Goddamnit this isn't fucking fair and you know it. I haven't fucking slept an hour in three days and haven't been able to live my life because I'm so worried about you." Bella chokes out. "What happened, Edward? We've told each other things no one else has ever know about us, and now some kind of doom has come over you and you won't even talk to me?"

Tears pool at the corner of Bella's tired eyes.

The embers reach my lips, and I throw what's left of the cigarette down on the ground right before pulling out another.

"Bella, I can't meet your family. I just- I can't do this. Any of it." I say it so quietly I can barely hear myself.

 _What the fuck am I doing._

"Edward, what are you talking about?" She moves to take the space on the bench next to me I feel her light touch on my shoulder, but nothing can bring me to recognize her presence.

"Fucking hell." I mumur, my head feeling even heavier in my palms. My eyes are fixed on the ground, looking at every speck in the pavement below me, clouded by the smoke escaping from in between my index and middle finger. I bring the cigarette to my lips again, inhaling so deeply as if the smoke will cloud up every memory of that time in my life and make it go away.

It doesn't.

"Edward, stop doing that, this isn't like you and it's scaring me." Bella's hand appears, trying to grab my cigarette from me, but I jerk it away.

"Bella, I'm a bad fucking person and I can't continue living this life in front of you- it's all a lie."

I don't have to shift my gaze to know Bella's face is hard, her tough shell fighting to block the tear trying to escape her eye.

"Ed-" I hold my hand up to her sitting to my right, cutting her off.

I chuckle at myself without humor thinking about how much money a producer would pay to get this scene captured. A broken man sitting on a bench by the river with a cigarette in hand, slouched over with his forehead in his palms, his eyes not leaving the ground, as his girlfriend sits to his right looking as if she's about to cry.

 _Oh, how Oscar worthy, Cullen._

"You see, Bella," my eyes shift up to the boats drifting by as I suck on my cigarette, "when I was 18 I had an affair with my mom's best friend." I say out, with no emotion. "'Fucking disgusting' is what you're probably thinking, huh sweetness?" My words were filled with nothing but pure anger and distance.

 _What is happening to me? This cold, brash bastard isn't who I am. I'm so fucking angry at myself, but I can't make her see that it's me who I'm mad at, not her._

"Edward Anthony Cullen what is going on with you." This wasn't a question, clearly, and Bella stands up so quickly and moves to stand right over me.

"You see," I wave my cigarette in the air, my eyes still haven't moved from the pavements' specks. "She got pregnant, but it wasn't mine. It was with her loyal husband." I chuckle darkly. "This, quite obviously, ended the affair, but once she had a baby and I started to get famous and pull in cash when I was about 20, she shows up at one of my house parties looking for me." I take a drag.

"As people would normally find me those days, I greet her as I'm in bed with two girls who are snorting coke off my chest. Classy." I stomp out my cigarette harder than necessary. "She pulls me out of bed and into the bathroom and starts to clean me up, while convincing me to run off with her… I think her excuse was "the domestic life wasn't for her". I was thoroughly fucked up, and I lash out. I lose it. At the end of it all, I tell her she was a convenient fuck and a symbol of my teenage rebellion, nothing more." I finally look at Bella, who's sitting on the other end of the bench with her knees tucked into her chest. She looked like a mess.

 _She's a mess because of you, Edward. Get it together, you should not tell her_ _your biggest secret like this and treat her like shit._

"I didn't know that she was clinically depressed. Her running off with me was her last ditch effort. She took her own life that night, and I was too busy filling myself to the brim with booze and drugs to even notice until the fucking eulogy appeared in the paper."

 _This was it. It was out there, and there was no going back._

I can't bear to look at Bella. I already knew she was horrified.

" _I_ am the reason why her daughter doesn't have a mom. _I_ killed her." My nails dig into my palms as I make fists clenched so tight I'm sure they turn purple.

"Edward, goddamnit." Bella shoots up and moves back to standing over me, then crouches down and forcefully grabs my jaw, yanking my eyes to hers.

"What you did was fucked up, bu-" That was all I needed to hear.

 _This is the moment I dreaded since I met her- I know Bella won't see me in the same way anymore and I don't blame her. At all. God, I love her so fucking much. But after what I just told her, I know she can't love me._

 _I know I'm about to be shot down. I know my heart is about to be ripped from my chest._

 _But I'm a coward._

 _And I can't bear that pain._

 _So I'm going to shoot first._

 _I'm going to go right where it hurts her most, and it will be horrifying to have to hurt her._

 _But that will hurt far less than if Bella is the one to leave me._

"I'm sorry" I whisper to myself, before I unleash.

My hand shoots to her wrist and rips it from my jaw.

"Don't you fucking dare try and tell me about what's fucked up and what's not!" I roar, my own voice scaring me.

"Edward, you didn't let me fin-" Bella yells back, but I can't stop. My heart and head are screaming for me to stop, but my irrationality is taking over.

"You know what, Bella? You have such a fucking hard shell around you that you see the mistakes in everybody but yourself. You give up on everybody. How can you sit here and judge me for acknowledging and sharing my biggest regret in life when you abandoned your sister when she had a mental illness she can't control, and you can't even recognize the mistake in that."

 _Edward goddamn Cullen leave. Right now. You've gone too far._

"I told myself that I was wrong for standing up to my sister my whole life, until one day I woke up and vowed to never have anybody, including myself, say that to me again because it's not true. I know that day I told you everything, you were someone who saw that I made the right choice when I walked out that door. What the fuck has happened to you?" Her body shifts from anger to defeat, her posture loosening and eyes softening, her face drooping into one exhausted grey cloud of nothingness.

 _She looked broken._

"The person I'm speaking to right now isn't who I confessed my love to for the first time in the ocean during a rainstorm that day. This person in front of me isn't who was just there a few days ago. I know you had to tell me about your past, and I understand you've been worried about it these past few days because I felt the same way before telling you about my sister. But _this_ is not the way to do it and you know it. And _this_ is not you-" Her eyes scan me from head to toe and she chokes out a sob.

"If you were here right now, I would tell you to quit defining yourself from your past. I'd tell you I love you and that there isn't anything you can do to make the universe separate me from you and that you are not defined by your mistakes in life." She begins to cry harder.

"But," She tugs the hem of her hoodie up to her eyes to wipe the tears, revealing the stomach I had kissed lovingly in bed just a few days ago.

Before all of this.

"But the fact of the matter is that that person has left. I have faith that the person I know and love deeply will come back, but for now I can't wait around when you're like this and insulting me in the most painful way possible and saying I was wrong for separating from the person who abused me for years." She makes me jump, grabbing the pack of cigarettes in my lap and throwing them in the river beside us letting out a scream that even scared me. Her sobs get louder, and my mind numbs more. I can't even formulate a thought- everything is just at an eerie stillness. All I know is that I'm selfish and I am wrong.

I thought the right thing to do was to lash out at Bella and say things I don't mean at all just to push her away, but to watch her hear them was easily the most painful think I've had to endure. I now know that the pain of her breaking my heart would be nothing compared to the pain I'm feeling now.

"You figure yourself out. By tomorrow, I want you off the bus and in a hotel; you won't be welcome back until the man I know reappears and promises me to never scare me with this act again. Tonight I'll stay on the boys' bus so you can spend the night in your bunk, but tomorrow morning I want you gone. And don't you dare try and reach me until you get your shit together." My body's numb.

 _Congrats, Edward. This is what you wanted. Are you happy now?_

"Maybe I'll hear for you, or maybe I'll be proven an idiot who believes in people too much and I won't hear from you. I just hope you make the right choice."

The clouds over Bella and Edward have darkened since they sat down. Boats pass by, causing tiny waves to lap against the river's edge. If you hold your breath, you can hear the sounds of the strong waves crashing against the Australian cliffs on the coast a few miles away.

A fog horn echoes from the coast, and the sound of kids' giggles as they jump off the school bus is in the wind.

If you were to look from above, everything would look normal. The morning boats pulling into the harbor, kids getting home from school, families going for an evening sail on the river. But if you were to zoom in real close, you'd see a broken man on a bench by the river, head in his hands, realizing he made a massive mistake that he intended to be the protection from his own heartbreak.

Here, he's realizing that this heartbreak is worse than any one he could've endured. He made a mistake and he can't take back what he said.

If you were to shift half a mile to the east, you'd see his heart walking away into the heavy fog, fists in pockets, and tear stained cheeks, walking to the arms of a man she once called her own.

As an onlooker, you know that they both are suffering such great pain only because they love each other so much, maybe too much, but they can't see that.

To the man on the bench, he couldn't imagine anyone loving him after knowing that information, so he thought he had to break the woman's heart to she wouldn't break his first.

To the woman marching on in the fog, she would find it physically impossible to ever break the man's heart, so she's puzzled as to why he just pushed her away when all she wanted to do is pull him close.

It's almost painful for you to watch... Two lovers' hearts break over miscommunication and misunderstanding that you see so clearly, but they cannot.

The woman soon disappears out of sight and into the fog, and the man sits and sits until the kids who had gotten off the school bus hours ago are fast asleep.

The world kept spinning, but to those two people the world had come to a strong halt.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Oh shit...**

 **See you soon ;)**

 **xx, S**


	37. Puddles

**A/N: Hi guys! Hope you all had a great new year.**

 **I got a lot of great reviews last chapter, and some were confused by the sudden change of course in the story, which was my intention. If you follow me on twitter you saw my explanation of last chapter, but basically I had Bella and Edward's relationship flip upside down so suddenly so that you, as a read, were as caught off guard by Edward's change in behaivor as Bella was. I wanted you all to truly feel Bella's confusion. So, if you were wondering why Edward changed very rapidly, besides the fact Edward kind of freaked out and felt it was now or never to tell Bella, that is why.**

 **Good news for you guys! I was going to make one long chapter, but I felt it would be too much in one so I split them up. This is the first part, and the second part will be up in a few hours! I still have to finish writing it and edit it, but I should be able to get it done by tonight. Hell yeah for two chapters in one day.**

 **If you're reading this before I've uploaded the second part, then leave a review so I have feedback to work in the second part!**

 **The visuals for this chapter will be posted with the next part**

 **Hope you enjoy some BPOV**

 **xx,**

 **S**

* * *

BPOV

11:47 am. It's been a day since he left, but it has felt like an eternity. Talking is too much. Moving is too much. Thinking is too much. Everything is.

And so, I pull the covers entirely over my head and close my eyes, shutting off once again.

3:29 pm. I must've only gotten a few hours of sleep since I last closed my eyes. I could've slept far more, and wish I had, but the failed attempts of whispering and loud shutting of cabinets pulled me out of my blissful, Edward-thought free slumber.

I flip over on my other side so I'm facing away from the curtain where light from the hallway is peeking through. I've just about accomplished my attempt to fall asleep on my own without the exhaustion of tears forcing me to sleep when my dark cocoon of my bunk is suddenly filled with light.

I turn over immediately to see who has opened my curtain, and I see Ross, Adam, and George sitting there looking at me with so much concern that it's somewhat amusing. It's like they're two little boys looking at an injured puppy without a clue of what to do.

"Hey Bella-Boo." George starts, softly.

"Forgive us because we're around males 24/7 and are kind of clueless as of what to do with a woman's heartbreak, but we just want the bubbly, wild, free spirit Bella back." Ross explains.

"We thought it would be good for you to maybe get out of bed and get some fresh air and hang with your brothers."

The concern and love in their eyes makes me smile for the first time since Edward shut off yesterday.

All of the sudden, the scent of cinnamon, buttery toast, and vanilla creeps into my bunk.

French toast.

Like Edward used to make me.

How simple of a time that was.

"Oh, yeah, we made you French toast because, well, who doesn't love French toast and you haven't eaten in a long time. Sorry if we woke you up while making it, we aren't the best chefs so there were a few curses and dropping of pots and pans." Adam, with a huge smile, places a massive plate of semi-burned French toast in front of me.

The mere smell is enough to push me off the edge, and the sight of three men who aren't Edward making it for me is unbearable.

Immediately, I go from smiling, to forming a pool of tears below me. I'm sniffling, choking out sobs, and clutching my aching chest.

"See?! I told you she'd hate it!" Ross curses out at Adam and George

"What are you yelling at me for, it was George's idea!" Adam shouts

"Was not!" George scoffs

They continue their bickering while the pool of tears below me fills higher and higher. I sniff and wipe my tears away the best I can, but my eyes were already crazily swollen from all the crying last night and now they're so swollen I can barely see.

"Hey, hey," I say, but they're bickering about who's to blame for the French toast idea that they can't hear me, even though they're squatting down at my bed so I'm about 4 inches from their faces.

"HEY!" I yell out. I forgot my voice was able to go above a whisper and mumble. It felt good to yell.

My three brothers turn to me, and I sniffle one more time. "It's not the french toast, I love it," I start

"HAH!" George points at Hann and Ross, and Ross elbows George's side.

"It's just Edward used to always make it for me and it just stirred up a lot of memories. I'm okay now, though, and fucking starving, so give that to me before you throw it at eachother."

George, with a grin, places it next to me. "We even warmed the syrup for you." Hann places a warm bottle of maple syrup on the plate as well.

Even though I shouldn't have any tears left, I tear up once again at the outpour of love and effort that went into this French toast.

I eat it bite by bite, and the boys stay right next to me until finish it, telling funny stories and making me laugh as much as possible.

I'm so damn lucky to have them.

I put the last piece in my mouth, and right then, I hear the door to the bus shut. The boys look at who it is, and open their arms. "It's a Bella lovefest over here and tickets are free if you'd like to join." Ross says.

A wide smile spreads across my face when I see Ellie and Theo poke their head around my bunk. "Bella-smella?" Theo says, dripping with concern. You can tell all they want to do is hold me, and I think that's what I need right now. I open my arms, and Ellie, Theo, George, Adam, and Ross all somehow pile into my 3 foot wide, tiny bunk and smother me with hugs, miraculously not breaking the bunk from our weight.

We're all giggling and groaning from our body weight on each other that we must've not heard the door close.

"Um, am I interrupting something, and if so, why wasn't I invited." Our heads whip around to see Matty, dressed in a white t-shirt tucked into his favorite black jeans, and one of his favorite clove cigarettes dangling from his lips.

"Oh, James Dean, be still, my beating heart!" Theo exclaims, and Matty flips him off. Matty raises his eyebrow at George, who's on top of me and under this huge pile of bodies.

"Uh, oh, yeah," George starts, "guys, we have that thing we have to go do." George says, awkwardly.

"Oh yeah, that." Hann says after a few seconds.

They each get off me, relieving my crushed body, and exit the bus so it's just Matty and I. He moves from leaning on the bunk across from me and sits at the edge of my bed. We don't do anything but look at each other, Matty occasionally taking a puff from his cig. His familiar scent of tobacco, clove, and vanilla fills my cocoon.

He moves his hand from mine, and tucks a piece of hair out of my face, lightly running his fingers through the pool of hair on my pillow.

 _I really loved this man, and he really loved me._

"I hope you don't try to tell me you're okay. You put up a good front, but I know you too well." Matty says quietly, gently brushing his cold fingers around the edge of my face.

"I know you do. And I'm not really okay right now." I admit. The words get caught in my throat; I hate saying I'm anything but okay and in control.

"I know when you're not okay because I saw that a lot on you back then." He face turns hard. "I did a lot of stuff you didn't deserve, Bella, and I hope you know how sorry I am for that. I just wish I had seen you like this back when we were together so I would know that _this_ is what I did to you far too often." Regret and pain is painted over his whole face.

"Hey, I move my hand of cover his that's resting on my cheek. It's okay, all that's in the past now." I choke out, a tear slipping from my eye.

"I know it's far from an excuse, but when you came into my life, we had just hit it big. I was excited; my bank account when from $200 to hundreds of thousands overnight, and grew from there. I didn't know what to do with it. People were recognizing me on the street. I was _somebody_. I did exactly what I shouldn't have done. I partied too much, lost touch with my family, didn't care for the woman I loved deeply enough…" He trails off and I'm shocked when I see a small tear pool at the corner of his eye. I had never seen him cry before.

"Matty," my hand reaches up and wipes the tear away. "Sure, that's true, but you have to know that these experiences you're kicking yourself over happened much less often than you think. During our relationship, I was like _this_ ," I motion to my swollen eyes and my body wrapped in bed, "maybe twice, three times throughout our two year relationship. Yes, you partied a lot did more drugs than any person should a few times, but so did I. I see our relationship filled with light, fun, and joy. I can't dwell on the mistakes I made back then because then I can never live a happy life, and you need to as well. Don't focus on the 1% of our relationship that was bad, but the 99% that was really fucking great."

"I know." His voice is raspy from the sadness. "I just have changed so much, and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think if I had gotten my act together sooner, we would still be together." He admits, and the thought lodges all the memories of us, the pain, the happiness, the good, the bad, in my head.

"Maybe we would be, but we can't focus on what _could've_ been, but what _was_. I don't regret a single moment I spent with you because I learned so much from you and despite what you think, you _did_ love me deeply, and I saw that every moment I spent with you. I still see it now, you and I love each other deeply, but it's a different kind of love, and neither of them are the better love, they're just different." I explain. Another tear slips from his eye.

"Please," I run my fingers through his curls and turn his eyes to mine so he knows I mean what I say. "Forgive yourself, Matty. Know that nothing was as bad as you're making it in your head and that the years I spent with you were easily some of the best of my life." I state with grave honesty.

He searches my eyes for hours, but was probably seconds, and I look right back at him, pleading him to understand.

"Okay." He whispers, and a small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

I smile big in response, seeing that he truly _is_ forgiving himself.

I hear a small voice come from the inears around his neck, and he quickly places one in his ear. He listens to the voice, then takes it out and looks right back at me.

"Duty calls?" I ask

He grins at me and nods. "Soundcheck shouldn't take long. Turn on some trashy TV and eat some ice cream. Trust me, it will make you feel better."

"Sounds tempting, but I was thinking about writing." I respond. "Hand me my guitar before you leave?" I ask

He walks to the back of the bus and hands me my rich brown mahogany guitar that's become my home ever since I got it when I was a teenager.

"Write me a #1 hit, okay?" Matty jokes.

"Okay."

He leans over, and places a kiss on my forehead before exiting the bus, leaving just me and my guitar.

I throw on a pair of overalls that were resting at the end of my bed and walk outside, taking my first breath of fresh air in too long. I find a spot in the grass, settle down with my guitar and journal, and play until my tears turn the strings on my guitar dripping wet.

* * *

 **A/N: Part 2 will be up in a few hours! I'm about 75% of the way through and will finish it right now.**

 **Matty and Bella's sudden closeness and intimacy is a part of the lead up to the next part, in case some of you guys are wondering.**

 **Talk to you all very soon!**

 **xx, S**


	38. Mobbed

**A/N: Hello again! I told you part two would come very soon :)**

 **Here's the BPOV continued, with a little Matty POV at the end.**

 **i've uploaded the visuals for this chapter, so go check them out.**

 **And PLEASE look at Santa Monica Dream, which is the song Bella writes in this. The cool thing is that it's written and sung by the girl who I model Bella off of, Julia Stone, who you know if you've been reading for awhile. If you don't know her, she is who Bella is inspired by, personality, lifestyle, and looks wise. She's Australian and her brother is Angus Stone, who is Bella's brother in this story. Her voice is how I envision Bella's, so go check it out.**

 **It's one of my favorite songs and I freaked out when I realized it would be perfect as Bella's song and it's written and sung by the girl who essentially is Bella in real life.**

 **Be sure to check out the other visuals, too, and leave a review!**

 **Everything's going to get more and more interesting from here ;)**

 **Hold on tight!**

 **xx, S**

* * *

The boys are playing soccer outside the venue; I watch them mess around and laugh from the window of the tour bus. I jump at the beep of the coffee maker and I pour a cup of the warm, rich goodness, slip on my shoes, and step outside. I was wearing real clothes today. That was a big step.

"Well don't you look nice." John exclaims.

"What, you didn't think my pajamas were a good look these past few days?" I joke.

Yesterday, after my talk with Matty, I went out and played for hours. I've been playing guitar for ages and the last time I got finger callouses was when I first learned how to play when I was a little girl. But this morning, the pads of my fingers are aching from playing so much. I poured every emotion of Edward and I into a song. In some way, the song was a source of closure. I could be overreacting, but even though I want to be hopeful, I know that there's a possibility that Edward and I are finished for good.

But to be honest I don't even want to consider that Edward didn't love me enough to stay, but I had to consider it. And I turned it into a song.

After getting all the negative thoughts out last night, I decided to take a seat on the side of the stage and watch the show from there. I'm always running around photographing so much that I can't remember the last time I actually sat and watched the show. I watched beginning to end, and I was startled that I didn't take the time earlier to truly recognize how incredible their art is. I always knew their show was unlike any other, but watching them last night brought me back to the life changing feeling I had watching them for the first time through the crack of the venue door that day. Their show has the power to change lives.

I snuck out right before the boys got off the stage and went back to bed. All this emotion has wiped me out, but thankfully this morning I'm feeling better.

Matty throws the ball at George as they continue to play and walks over to me.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" He asks

"No, you?"

"Not yet. Want to grab a bite?"

"Sure, I know a good spot around here." After our breakup, we saw each other many times and everything was perfectly normal, but there never was full closure. After yesterday, I feel like both Matty and I have a weight off our shoulders and now we can _really_ be normal. I head back in the bus and grab my purse, throwing my sunglasses on. I head back out and see Matty's thrown on his sunglasses and leather jacket that I swear to god is sewn on his body because he wears it so much.

"Anybody want to join us for breakfast?" Matty shouts to the rest of the boys and crew playing soccer.

"We ate already, thanks mate." Johan shouts from over his shoulder.

"Shall we then?" Matty asks. He turns to head right, but I go for the venue doors.

"Isn't the street out this way?" Matty asks, motioning to the right of the venue.

"Yeah, but it leads us on the wrong street in the opposite way. It's easier if we just go out front." I explain.

He and I cut through the venue, and nod at the security guards by the front door as we step outside.

"If I remember correctly it's a block down to the lef-" I'm cut off by an uproar of screams and my head whips to the left to see a line of maybe 600+ girls lining the street.

"Fuck! I'm an idiot. I forgot people line up for days before the show." I curse out.

Matty turns to say something to me but doesn't get a syllable out before he's yanked by a mob of girls and within an instant is swallowed in a mass of crying girls, physically pulling off his clothes and yanking his hair. I slam my hand on the door, notifiying security, then suddenly a mob of girls recognize me and start screaming my name.

"You fucking bitch you stole my man!" "Guys that's Matty's girlfriend!" "Bella & Matty you guys are the cutest couple ever!" All of this is firing at us and suddenly every girl in line is pulling on me in all directions, some trying to hug me and some trying to kill me for "stealing Matty".

I feel myself start to shake and a panic attack bubble up inside. I'm trying to tell them to step back, but my mouth is frozen in anxiety and they're screaming so loud they couldn't ever hear me.

Just before I feel like I'm going to spill over in panic, I feel familiar cold hands grab mine and pull me out. My head yanks up to Matty, who's pulling me out while guarded by two security guards. A mass of more security guards come out and organize the girls back in a line, putting up a barricade so they can't get out of the line. "Keep moving." My head's down and Matty's pulling me along quickly down the street until the sound of screaming girls subsides and we feel safe. He drops my hand and turns to me with wide eyes.

"Maybe let's go out the back entrance next time." He looks at me before we both explode into hysterics about the pure chaos that just ensued. As scary as it was, we couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm so sorry, I totally forgot how many people line up so early." I apologize.

"Hey, me too, I haven't gone through a front door of a venue in so long I kind of forgot why I don't go out that way."

He and I continue laughing as we enter the breakfast spot. There are a few tamer fans who asked for pictures respectfully, so we accept and Matty chats with them briefly and thanks them for being a fan. Thankfully, this place was tiny and very lowkey so there weren't more than ten people in there at a time. He and I grab our food and sit down; it feels just like it was with Angus when I was a kid. _God, I need Angus right now. I can't wait to see him._

As if he just read my mind, Matty asks if Angus knows about what's going on.

"No, I haven't looked at my phone since he left two days ago."

Matty swallows his bite and looks at me seriously. "Look, I'm not saying you need to tell me, but I do think you should tell Angus. He's been through everything with you and I really think he can help." Matty pleads.

"I know. It's just scary for me because _I_ don't even know what happened." He pauses and gives me the space to continue. "Edward was perfectly fine when he got here. He loved hanging out with you and the boys and had fun getting to know you. Then, the next day I woke up and he was gone. Every break I had he was "out". He wasn't responding to texts. Any time I tried to find him to ask what the fuck was going on, he wasn't there. Then, he texted me two days ago and asked me to meet him on this bench away from the venue. I found him, and he was chainsmoking, which I've never seen him do, and looked dead. I yelled at him in frustration for not letting me in, and eventually he told me about something that happened to him when he was a kid. He blames himself for the death of this woman who was mentally ill and took her own life. He didn't even give me a chance for me to tell him that it wasn't his fault and that he needs to forgive himself, but he just burst. He told me I didn't understand and that I wasn't to judge because I left Laura all those years ago. Just hearing those words made me want to punch him, but I saw past them. When I told him about everything that happened to me, he showed me nothing but concern and compassion, so hearing him say the exact opposite was puzzling. I told him I didn't think this was the real him speaking, to move off the tour, and to only come back when his head is on straight. Now I realize that there's a very good chance I'm too much of an optimist and maybe he was lying when he expressed his support of me in the Laura situation, and maybe he actually does believe that me kicking Laura out was wrong." I don't even notice I'm emotional until a tear hits the napkin on my lap.

"God, I'm sorry, love." Matty rests his hand on my back. "I want to tell you that there's a reason he did all this and he didn't mean a word he said, because that's what I believe, but I don't _know_ what he was thinking. From the read I got on him, he was madly in love with you and you could see that he would throw himself in front of a train for you, but I just don't know. "

"And I don't expect you to know. The only person who does is him." I wipe a tear from my cheek.

"Exactly, and that's why you have to check your phone. He could've called with an explanation. It's scary because it might not be what you want to hear, but not knowing is scarier."

"You're right, I just don't have the strength to do it." I sniffle.

"Do you want me to look for you?" Matty offers.

I nod. "I have my phone in my bag somewhere." I dig through my bag and place my phone in his hand.

He scrolls through my notifications, and he reaches the end with a hard face.

"A lot of missed calls, messages, and texts, but none from him." Matty hands my phone back with a sympathetic smile and I don't even glance at the phone before throwing it back in the depths of my bag.

"Can we get the check?" I ask, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"Of course." He flags down the waiter and we cover the bill, then slip back outside and head in the venue through the back door, this time.

We both flash our laminates and head into the greenroom to find the boys, Jamie, and the rest of our friends sitting on their phones, chatting and jamming.

"Hey-yo kiddos." Jamie says, waving at Matty and I.

"More coffee?" I enthusiastically grab the mug from Ellie's hands and slump down in an open chair.

"Note to self, don't go out the front entrance of a venue the morning of the show." Matty exhales, chuckling.

"You went out the front door?!" Jamie just about spits out his coffee, and the rest of them look at Matty like he's psycho.

"Hey, don't yell at me, I've always used the back door and kind of forgot why I did, and Bella forgot too."

"We had quite a rude awakening." I add.

"How the fuck are your clothes still on your body?" George asks.

"Security. We have to go thank them later, they saved our asses." I say, chuckling as I think back to Matty's face when he saw a mob of girls heading right for him.

"Bells?" Hann says sweetly... Too sweetly.

"What do you want, Mister Adam Hann?"

"Well, I heard you playing a fucking incredible song yesterday. I didn't want to eavesdrop so I kept walking, but from the few seconds I heard, it was incredible. Can you play it?" Adam must've heard me writing the song about Edward yesterday. Fuck.

"Oh, I don't think so. I wouldn't be able to get through it." I say, honestly.

"They say crying is the best therapy." Joel urges, handing me a guitar.

"Yeah, that but probably doesn't apply to someone who's cried about two gallons worth of tears in a day." I respond.

"Well, unless it says so in the fine print, crying is the best therapy in any situation." He pushes the guitar closer.

"It might be a good release for you." Matty adds on.

After a few seconds of staring at the steel strings begging to be plucked, I grab the guitar with a defeating groan.

"Have you got a name for it yet?" Adam asks

"Yeah, I think I'm calling it Santa Monica Dream."

Ellie claps her hands and I tune the guitar to where it's just right, and orient my fingers. This song was so close to me I don't need the lyrics even though I wrote it less than 24 hours ago.

I begin the quiet strumming, close my eyes, and place myself in the words.

 _Goodbye to my Santa Monica dream  
Fifteen kids in the backyard drinking wine  
You tell me stories of the sea  
And the ones you left behind  
Goodbye to the roses on your street  
Goodbye to the paintings on your wall  
Goodbye to the children we'll never meet  
And the ones we left behind  
And the ones we left behind_

 _I'm somewhere, you're somewhere  
I'm nowhere, you're nowhere  
You're somewhere, you're somewhere  
I could go there but I don't_

 _Rob's in the kitchen making pizza  
Somewhere down in Battery Park  
I'm singing songs about the future  
Wondering where you are  
I could call you on the telephone  
But do I really want to know?  
You're making love now to the lady down the road  
No I don't, I don't want to know_

 _I'm somewhere, you're somewhere  
I'm nowhere, you're nowhere  
You're somewhere, you're somewhere  
I could go there but I don't_

 _Goodbye to my Santa Monica dream  
Fifteen kids in the backyard drinking wine  
You will tell me stories of the sea  
And the ones you left behind  
And the ones we left behind_

I finish the song and a tear slips from my eye.

"Holy shit, that's beautiful." George says, breaking the silence.

"Painfully beautiful." Jamie echoes silently.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to shoot tonight? You really don't have to." Matty asks for the millionth time today.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's good for me to get out of my cocoon of sadness and do what I love. Plus, you guys haven't got any pictures these past two shows."

"And we're totally fine without them. Don't worry about us, only go out and photograph tonight if you really want to." He reassures

"I really want to, I promise."

"Alright then, group hug." We all slip in our inears and Matty, George, Ross, Hann, Jamie and I all hug tightly. "Go out there and kill it, boys." I say, high-fiving them all as the intro music nears the end. Just at the sight of George, Ross, and Adam the crowd erupts in screams, and the screams only intensify to the point of hearing damage when Matty steps on afterwards. The end of the intro gets louder and louder until it all goes black and silent, then the stage explodes in pink and the familiar guitar riff of Love Me triggers the whole, 7,000+ crowd to jump up and scream. I head down the hallway and slip out from backstage into the crowd, and catch a few shots before I'm on the move to the center-back of the venue. As I'm walking alongside the crowd, I'm noticing people's gaze following me. Soon, more and more people are turning and I start to speed up.

 _Did I grow two heads or forget to put on pants or something?_

I reach the back of the venue away from the crowd and am just about to take a shot, but out of my viewfinder I see a mob of people moving towards me.

"I told you his girlfriend was here!" I hear amongst the chatter and soon more and more people's heads are turning.

 _Shit. Word must've spread that Matty's "girlfriend" was here._

I fire one shot then b-line it to the other side of the venue, where hopefully less people can see me. Just as I leave my spot and practically run to the right side of the stage, I'm caught dead in my tracks when I see a tall man with golden, coppery, light brown hair and a very familiar black denim jacket.

 _Edward._

My feet don't know what to do. My brain turns to mush. I practically drop my camera. My eyes zone in on him, and I head straight for him in the crowd. Fuck the fans trying to attack me. Just as I'm about to reach out to him, his face turns and I feel my stomach sink to my feet.

It wasn't him.

Great, now I'm hallucinating.

I mumble curses at myself for getting my hopes up and try and tell myself that he _will_ come back. I wriggle out of the people surrounding me and head to the right, up close to the stage and I continue firing shots. After about 30 seconds of peace, word spreads across the crowd and now this side of the crowd is screaming, asking how Matty is in bed, telling me how lucky I am, how they would kill me to take my place, etc.

 _Today just isn't my day, is it?_

At this point, the boys are in between songs and since George's drums are on a platform, he sees the mass forming on the right side of the stage.

He catches my eye and looks at me in panic, but I reassure him. The last thing I want to do is the boys to get involved and cause an even bigger scene.

I turn around to head back to the backstage door, but find I'm trapped in by people. I'm about ten feet away from the stage and can slip backstage from there, but that would mean me climbing over the barricade, getting security to hoist me up on stage, and slipping around the curtain and backstage. Since there's no way of going discreetly, this is the lesser of two evils. Fuck it.

I push through the girls grabbing at me and make it to the barricade, holding on to it for dear life. Girls are cursing me out for pushing them out of their spot and it's a giant mess. I hoist myself up and swing a leg around, and within seconds security guards and running towards me, yelling for me to get down. They reach me and grab at my leather jacket, squeezing my arm painfully, so I grab at the laminate on my right hip and shove it in their face.

"I'm their photographer, for Christ's sake, now get me over." I demand, sick and tired of this night. First I get mobbed, then I hallucinate and think I see Edward, then I get mobbed again, then I get attacked by security who think I'm a fan trying to jump the barricade.

They look at each other unsurely, and thankfully this is all happening in front of Adam's spot on the stage. I watch him slowly inch towards the edge of the stage, careful not to draw any more attention to me, and Adam quickly shouts at the security guards to let me over before returning right back to his spot.

They oblige, and I finally am able to swing my other leg over and hop on the other side of the barricade where I'm safe.

"I need to get on the stage." I demand, giving the guards a look not to test me again.

One of them gives in and gives me a boost on to the tall speakers at the base of the stage. I climb on to the stage, and slip behind the curtain as discreetly as I possibly could have. Once I'm behind the curtain, I turn around to see Matty giving me a concerned look. I nod, telling him I'm okay, and slip back to the green room, where Jamie's sitting.

"Well that was a fucking shit-show." I throw myself on the couch and let out a heavy sigh.

"What happened?" Jamie asks, closing his laptop.

"Word must've gotten around that I'm here, and since people think Matty and I are a thing, I was mobbed out in the crowd, then I thought I saw Edward and just about shat myself, then I got trapped in the crowd and had to get on stage to head back here." I grumble out.

"Here, you need one of these." Jamie hands me one of my favorite Australian beers, and I consider kissing his feet.

 _Note to self: Don't do that again._

Matty POV

I swear to god, if I keep doing what I do I'm going to have to retire at 30. Preforming every night for hours and traveling everyday wipes you out. A lot.

I walk off stage, waving at the crowd one last time, and one of the techies hands me a sweat towel, a water bottle, and my phone. I chug down the water bottle while turning on my phone, and I see there's two missed calls from an American number with a 310 number. I had gotten another call from them before the show, but ignored it thinking it's a telemarketer. I look up the 310 area code: California.

It's probably an agent from the LA location of our record label. I click on the number, and the other end picks up after the first ring.

"Matty?" First of all, if it were a person concerned with business, they wouldn't answer with my name. Second, the voice on the other end is female and high, sounding like a teenager or a girl in their early twenties.

 _Fuck, how did a fan get my number?_

"Who is this?" I respond, putting on a threatening tone.

"Wait, don't hang up, this is Edward's sister, Alice." The girl blurts out.

"And why should I believe that?"

"Here, I'll send you a picture of me right now with a piece of paper saying that I am me so you know I didn't get any random picture off the internet."

"Sure, go ahead, but if you're lying, I'm reporting you." I pressure.

"See for yourself, I just sent the picture." I open my texts and see a message from this number with a picture of Alice Cullen herself with a sign that says, "Matty, this is Alice Cullen. I'm not lying!"

 _Thank god, I didn't want to have to change my number for the hundredth time. I've got to admit, it's pretty fucking cool when you get a call from the dopest designer in the industry._

I exit my texts and go back to the call. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure this wasn't someone who got my number."

"Don't be sorry, I would've done the same thing. Are you alone right now?"

"Um, no, hold on a second." I find an empty dressing room and light up a ciggie.

"I'm alone now, what's up?"

"I'm sorry I'm calling you, I just didn't know what to do, so I got your number from my friend who works at your record label. It's just my brother hasn't answered a single text, email, phone call, skype, etc, and Bella hasn't either. I didn't know who to call and I'm worried sick. Are they okay?"

Shit, I guess Alice doesn't know.

"Bella's fine, I don't know about your brother. Something happened between them and Edward kinda changed within one day, so Bella told him to leave. She hasn't been on her phone at all and I doubt Edward has either."

"I don't get it. What happened?"

I'm just about to answer, before I realize the strangeness of her calling me, not Angus or Bella's family.

"Wait, wait, Alice, why are you calling me and not Bella's family?" I halt, trying to figure this all out.

"What do you mean…? Why _wouldn't_ I call you in this situation?" Alice states.

"I'm sorry, but I'm lost."

Alice sighs and continues. "Well, considering my brother and his girlfriend both are M.I.A and _you_ were seen holding hands with my brother's girlfriend and pulling her in too close for "just friends" today, I thought you were a good place to start." Alice quips.

"What? What pictures of Bella and I?" Now I'm really confused.

My phone buzzes and I see a text from Alice. I open it and see fan pictures of Bella and I from this morning when we were mobbed, my hand in hers pulling her along. If I didn't know that I was pulling her out of a mob, I would think we were a couple too.

"Shit" I curse out

"Yeah, shit. No one was answering so I checked her tagged pictures and found that picture from this morning, then I saw it on one of those Instagram "relationship goals" accounts and more pictures of you two with fans. What the hell were you thinking getting with your ex who you know is with someone else and why the fuck did I ever think Bella was good for my brot-"

"Wait, Alice, this is a massive misunderstanding." I cut her off immediately. " Bella and I were heading out for food, _just as the friends we are_ , and we both got attacked by fans. Security pulled me out of the mass, but were having trouble getting Bella, so I went in and grabbed her and pulled her out. That's why it looks like we were holding hands. I'm not worried about that, though. What I'm worried about is there's a chance that Edward's seen these photos and has greatly misunderstood them. There's a chance an already bad situation may have gotten much worse, and I need your help because of it." I plead.

 _Now Edward not calling Bella makes sense. He probably saw those pictures and thought she came running back to me and left him._

"Look, I believe you. I didn't really believe Bella would cheat anyways. But, what bad situation? What happened?" Alice questions.

"Honestly, I wouldn't tell anyone else this for Bella's privacy, but since you're Edward's sister and you two seem close, I'll tell you. All that Bella told me is that Edward randomly started avoiding her, then they sat down and Edward told her that he was the cause of the death of a mentally ill woman who committed suicide, which Bella says isn't true. She was starting to tell him that it wasn't his fault and that despite his mistakes she loves him, but he exploded and said some really hurtful things, so she told him to get off the tour bus and only come back when he has his head on straight. Bella's been a mess but is getting better, but Edward hasn't contacted her so she's starting to believe he's left for good. What I think happened is he saw those pictures somehow and now _he_ thinks she left him for good. With your help, we need to get these two in a room together and set everything straight and have them see this is a massive, messy miscommunication"

The other end of the receiver is silent.

"He never learns, does he?" I hear Alice say to herself on the other end.

"What?" I question

"Thank you so much Matty, I'll call you back."

Right before Alice hangs up, I hear her yell out to two people talking in the background.

"Mom, Dad, we're going to Australia earlier than we thought."

* * *

 **A/N: Can we all have a round of applause for Alice for saving the day?**

 **I hope you liked the New Moon reference with Alice swooping in to try and fix the misunderstandings ;)**

 **School starts tomorrow so things will be busy again, but I promise to upload as soon as I can.**

 **PLEASE give me some love and leave a review and check out the visuals!**

 **See ya!**

 **xx, S**


	39. Push & Pull

**A/N:**

 **Hello! I'm so sorry it's been a minute. School picked up and I think something shifted in my planets because it feels like everything in my life just drastically changed. Some good, a lot of bad. It's okay though, because that's life!**

 **I'm back in the writing groove now that things have calmed down a bit more and I hope you all like this new chapter. Something you've probably been waiting for since a few chapters ago happens :)**

 **There's only one visual for this chapter and it's linked in my profile, of course.**

 **Anybody who leaves a review gets an invite to one of Bella's legendary house parties with Edward and the crew. And a hug from me, of course.**

 **xoxox**

 **S**

* * *

EPOV

It was two in the morning, but I was making breakfast.

That's how my days have been going lately.

My sleep schedule has been composed of me sleeping from around 1 am to 2 am to maybe 3:30 am, if I'm lucky.

It's been three days of me torturing myself over my grave mistake with Bella. It's my fault I didn't have the faith in her and couldn't see that her love was, in fact, unconditional. I couldn't see that she meant every word when she said that nothing I could say or do could pull the love for me that's been stitched so tightly into her heart.

I _was_ hers.

And now I'm alone. My lack of trust and faith could have very easily ended it all for us. I think I lost the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I repeat my routine these past few days and make a bowl of cereal and sit outside, trying to lose my own thoughts in the darkness of the night.

Once sunrise comes, I dump out my untouched cereal.

I'm starting to realize it's impossible to lose my thoughts.

"You look like shit." Chris says, stretching and padding over to the kitchen. When I left the tour van, I went to the Hemsworth's house. We worked on a movie a year or two ago and became good friends, and recently reconnected at Bella's gallery opening a few weeks ago. He's the only person I know in Australia, so I called him and asked if I could get on a plane to Sydney and crash in his guest bedroom, so here I am.

"Look, I know you don't want to talk about this, but you have to know that I know Bella too and if you haven't reached out to her, I recommend that you do soon." Chris says, giving me a concerned look.

"I don't need to, I know what she'll say already." I respond flatly.

"You may be surprised, you can't say you know for sure when you haven't tried." He says.

He's known better to ask questions, but he isn't dumb and pretty easily figured out why I all the sudden left tour and showed up at his front step.

His phone starts to ring, and he excuses himself and steps outside, so I return to my bed and just lie there, as I've been doing for days.

What feels like four hours later, but I then realize is only 30 minutes later, there's a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in." I sit up and stow my laptop away. "What's up?" I ask right before looking up and expecting to see Chris, but my eyes bulge out when I see it's not Chris, but my mother.

"Mom?" I ask, just about positive I'm hallucinating. When I thought I wasn't going insane enough, both my sister and my father emerge.

"I'm sorry for springing on you like this, we just are worried." Esme steps over and sits on the edge of my bed, rubbing the side of my face like the way she always used to when I was little.

"Ho-how did you find me? What's going on? Why are you in Australia?" I was thoroughly, 100%, positively confused.

"Ask your sister." My dad responds, giving me a hug.

"God, Edward, I was so worried." Alice jumps on me, squeezing me so tight I can barely breathe. "What the hell happened to you and Bella?" Alice asks, pulling away and looking me right in the eye.

"How do you know about that?" I question. I haven't talked to my family since right before I left for Australia last week, and I know that Bella wouldn't call them; she was very private with her emotions and no matter how close she is to my family, she wouldn't jump to call them and vent.

Alice glances at our parents before looking back at me.

"Basically, there were pictures of Bella and Matty released yesterday-" Alice starts, and I feel like my throat because half its size within less than a second. My stomach flips, and suddenly I feel nauseous.

 _I should've known that by leaving her like I did she'd go to him for comfort. She needed consolation and his arms were open. I've lost her._

"No, no, no, no, Edward, not like that." Alice blurts out quickly after seeing the discomfort and pain all over my face. "Basically, they went outside and ended up getting mobbed by fans, so Matty grabbed Bella and pulled her away. But, the pictures could appear misleading and I hadn't heard from either of you, so I called Matty and asked him to explain. He told me what I just explained to you, which was that they were getting mobbed, so he grabbed Bella to pull her out and they weren't holding hands like the picture suggested. He said that something happened between you two and that you left out of the blue. I was terrified that you would see the pictures of Bella and Matty and take them the wrong way and Mom, Dad, and I were worried about you and Bella, so, now we're here, I guess. We knew Chris was the only person in Australia you knew so after calling a few hotels we called him and found you."

"Why were you worried about me? Why couldn't you just explain the photos over the phone?"

"Well, first of all, your phone's been off, and I also know you, Edward. I know that you can overreact and jump to conclusions, so I had a feeling that whatever happened between you and Bella is not as bad as you make it. So, we're here to get you out of bed and to bring you to Bella, because you guys need to talk. I see the love you two have and I find it hard to believe that whatever happened was bad enough to end it all."

I'm silent for a few moments, processing everything.

 _How did Alice know me so well?_

"I messed up Alice, and I don't know if Bella can forgive me." I say, rubbing my palms over my face exhaustedly.

"Did you cheat on her?" She asks bluntly.

"No."

"Did you kill her best friend?"

"God, no, Alice."

"Did you kill someone?"

"Alice, what the fuck, no I didn't kill anybody or cheat on her."

"Okay, then, I'm 99.9% sure that whatever happened will _not_ break your relationship, so get out of bed and pack your bags. Their next stop is just a couple of miles away in Sydney and we're putting you both in a room and not letting you out until you talk. Okay? Great." My mom holds her hand out forcefully. She knows my weak spot, I can't ever say no to her.

"Does she even know I'm coming?" I ask as I gain the energy to get out of bed.

"Nope and we're not telling her just like we didn't tell you we were coming. We know better and know you'd panic and put up a fight. Matty and the boys know, in fact they were the ones who insisted we bring you to talk to Bella and figure stuff out. They're good guys, Edward, and just want to see Bella happy."

 _They weren't wrong._

I reluctantly placed my hand in my moms and pulled myself out of bed. It was now 9 am, and I had until 4 pm when the tour bus arrived to compose myself and think of what to say to Bella.

BPOV

I got myself out of bed a little bit easier this morning, but it still wasn't easy. I still felt the weight of Edward's ghost holding me down.

I laced up my shoes and went for a run, not even realizing until 5 miles later when I came to a finish that I ran my fastest time ever. I think a part of that is because I was trying to outrun my own emotions.

The run worked and my feelings and emotions became foggy with each stride, but now, hunched over with my hands resting on my knees, the thoughts are bubbling up slowly but surely.

I walk back to my bus, waving at the passing crew and band members as Odesza continues to blast into my ears in attempt to silence the anxiety. Before I walk to my bus, though, I veer off to the street next to the venue and find a little courtyard where there are a few people drinking coffee and reading.

He's been gone only 3 days, but it has felt like three years. Every millisecond is felt, and it hurts. Two friends pass by, laughing and joking along casually.

"It will be like the mother fucking Catalina Wine Mixer, dude." I overhear one of the guys joking with his friend.

My toes clench and my stomach flops a little, recognizing that quote from Step Brothers. The memory of Edward coming to see me when I stayed at Emmett and Rose's after my panic attack floods my memory. At that point, Edward and I had only known each other for a brief time but he still found me and did everything to cheer me up. You could talk to my mom or dad; it always takes me at least two days to feel somewhat normal and okay after a panic attack. It's been like that since I was a little girl.

I distinctly remember Edward stepping into my bedroom, and before I even knew it was him, I felt the suffocating grips of anxiety loosen. I was so, so scared to ask Edward to stay with me, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't just try. When he said he would, I tried so hard to hold myself together, but inside I was doing cartwheels from elation. He and I watched Step Brothers and I was laughing when I thought I would never be able to just hours after a bad anxiety attack. It was when I couldn't focus on the film because I was in complete shock of how Edward's presence seemed to heal me that I realized that he was more than just "Edward" to me.

This memory would usually cause a surge of happy nostalgia and gratitude, but now the memory is creeping through my body, dragging its sharp nails against my insides.

It's been three days and not a single word from Edward. I can't keep fooling myself and saying that he didn't mean what he said to me and that he will come back.

He's a great actor, and the more I think about it the more I'm realizing that he's capable of faking the look of love.

And I was a fool for thinking it to be true.

The only thing in my life that's giving me some sense of comfort is the fact that I will be seeing my parents in a few days when we reach the end of the tour in Byron Bay. I really need to inhale my mom's scent of cinnamon and vanilla and to taste the comfort of my dad's pancakes.

I need my family.

This leads me to the dreaded thought of Thanksgiving. Edward's family was coming in a few days and meeting us at the Byron Bay show. His aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone was meeting in Australia for a family vacation and I was expected to be there.

But I'm not anymore.

I'm sure Alice and Jasper will find me when they're here, but other than that, I don't expect to be in his life anymore.

I swallow the truth, but it doesn't go down easy. At all.

I kick the toe of my sneaker into the grass before turning on my toes and returning back towards the bus. We were leaving for the show in Sydney in an hour so I change out of my workout clothes and throw on a loose grey tee, some denim cutoffs, and hook my leather jacket on my shoulder so I can go help the crew get organized before we leave.

The duration of the strenuously long trip consisted of me burying myself in editing, then blocking everything out and reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's work. I knew better than to let myself go more than a second undistracted.

When I wasn't distracted is when the thoughts flooded in.

Matty thumbed the strings on his guitar, having just emerged from his bunk even though it was almost 4 o'clock, and Adam sat next to me reading as well. I glance over and Hann looks outside, something catching his eye.

"We're heading into Sydney now. Only twenty more minutes." He announces, stowing his book away and heading to get his stuff organized in the back room. I do the same and tidy up my bunk, joking around with Ross who sleeps above me and is hanging his head over the bunk bed, fooling around as usual.

After hours of passing endless Australian terrain, we arrive in the buzzing city of Sydney and approach the venue. Australia has the land mass of America, but the population of New York City alone. You drive through thousands of miles of pure nothingness and emerge into a city. Besides the well-known cities in Australia, it really was just a whole bunch of empty, sparse land.

We follow our normal duties, grabbing anything we need and hopping off the bus, everyone emerging from the army of tour buses unloading the set, instruments, and lights. Within one minute of arriving every crew member is in full work mode and setting up. I swing my camera bag over my shoulder and move into the venue, following the signs for the dressing room. I throw my bag down on the couch and plug in my laptop, ready to organize and plan for tonight's shoot. After a while, all the green rooms start to look the same. By now, they were identical to me.

Before I settle down, I head out of the dressing room to get a bottle of water from the venue bar. I head down the hallway amongst the focused, bustling crew, and walk down the steps along the side of the stage where the boys, except Matty, are setting up their pedals and instruments. The venue was normal size for them, about 6 thousand, and the bar was on the far side of the venue so I begin the walk across the floor. Usually the bar doesn't open until about a half an hour before doors, so I was confused when I saw four people standing around the bar. The only source of light came from the soft illumination from the front doors around the corner of the bar, and I was still far away so I couldn't see which crew members they were. As I get closer, my eyes hone in on the shape of slumped shoulders. The person had a hood on and was at least 6 foot 4, also suggesting it was a man by his strong build. His long legs hang over the bar stool in a way that's familiar.

It's just the way Edward would sit at the bar in my house, watching me make him a drink for him after a long day's work. Except, this man's pose is somber, like he just got every ounce of life and vitality sucked from him.

Honey-brown emerges as I get closer to the bar, beautiful, thick waves cascading down the woman's back who's turned away behind the bar fixing a drink.

Before I know what I'm processing, my body presses pause and my legs begin to move slower, as if I'm walking into quicksand and sinking deeper and deeper. The woman turns around when the sound of my slow footsteps becomes audible to the four people.

It isn't until the lifeless shadow turns around on the bar stool and two orbs of a blue-green I have imprinted in my brain appears out of the dim light.

It was Edward.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **OMG... what's going to happen? What will he say? Will Bella believe him? How will she react? Will this be the end for them?**

 **If you want answers to these questions, leave a review and I'll be nice and update soon ;)**

 **Hope you enjoyed**

 **-S**


	40. Chipping Away

**A/N: Hi guys!**

 **Hop you all are doing well. I'm off to London in a few hours so I wanted to get this posted before I got on the plane and started writing the next chapter!**

 **Hope you enjoy and PLEASE leave a review!**

 **xx, S**

* * *

EPOV

My hood is covering my face as much as possible as I focus on my feet hanging low over the bar stool, just grazing the ground. My fists are clenched in my pockets, my heart beating a million times a minute.

 _She's too good for me. She has no reason to forgive me._

My mom is making herself and my dad a cup of water, and Alice stands beside me. Matty just walked away after saying hi to us and letting us know that Bella should find us soon. Before he left, he gave me a nod of encouragement, but with a look in his eyes that said if I hurt Bella again he'd come for my life.

 _I would want to come for my life too if I were him._

"Look, I know you don't want to talk right now, but try and remember that you two were brought together for a reason. Bella's a part of you and our family; I saw it the first time I laid eyes on her. You two are meant for each other." Alice insists.

"Alice, look at what I've done. I can't poison herself any more with my presence." I mumble back.

"If what you two do to each other is _poisoning_ each other, then I hope to god that I can watch Jasper and I's kids one day find someone to poison them. You two love each other so deeply, and if you want to think love is "poison" then so be it, but you and I know that's not true." Alice affirms. "I love Bella so deeply, Edward, and you do too. We all do. Don't let her forget that." She turns and rounds the corner to head outside the venue.

I mull on Alice's words, my heart pounding on the insides of my ribcage so hard I'm sure its beat will break my bones.

I'll tell her the truth of why I did everything; why I said the things I did. I'll tell her how I did it from a place of selfishness and thought I was doing not only myself, but more importantly her, a favor. I wanted to save her, and I should've told her everything before we fell as hard as we did. I now see the longer I went without telling her about my past, the more I hurt her, and I will never go a day without punishing myself for that.

My heart expands to four times its size, my muscles freeze, and my stomach drops when I hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Crewmembers were walking around, but I knew the sound of those footsteps amongst the noise. These feet made that sound as they ran to me after a long day of work, after I stood up my first time surfing, as we ran along the beach that day and I told her I loved her, as I placed her down on the ground after throwing her over my shoulder and blowing raspberries on her stomach.

It was my heart walking to me.

I take a deep breath and remember Alice's words before strenuously lifting my head to look into the eyes I could dive into and explore for the rest of my life.

She was standing there as my mom wrapped her arms around her. She was in my favorite torn up denim shorts of hers and the leather jacket she always has in the back of her car in case a cold front passes through.

My father steps up next and gives her a warm hug before they excuse themselves, slipping outside.

Bella's eyes meet mine, and I don't need this space to be brighter to see the exhaustion weighing her down, purple shades splattered under eyes like a watercolor twilight.

She looks like she just watched her life collapse before her eyes, and my abdomen folds into itself as if the punch I just felt in my stomach was real.

 _You did this._

She stands there looking at me, no amount of exhaustion and pain ever capable of chipping away from her beauty.

"Walk with me?" I ask tentatively with an extended hand and she reluctantly takes it as I lead her down a hallway to a vacant room. She walks in first, the tension and sadness and unspoken words in the room already crippling. I step in and shut the door, locking it behind me for privacy.

She finds a seat on the other side of the room, and sits down, waiting for one of us to start, but we both have no clue of where to even start. There's so much I want to say, but I don't know how to say it.

Before I find a way to begin, Bella stands right up and walks right up to me with so much ferocity it kills me. She slaps me, which was well deserved, and all of the sudden she starts punching and shoving at my chest, letting out every ounce and anger and emotion that is overflowing from her body. I stand there and take it, watching as she shows me every ounce of pain that I have inflicted upon her.

 _Look at what you did. You deserve it._

She begins to choke out sobs as she continues hitting and pushing, her hits and shoves becoming weaker as the emotion takes over and the anger runs low. I reach for her wrists and still her, and she moves to wrap herself around me so tight I feel like an hourglass, the sand falling through second by second. I lay my hand on her head against my chest, and pull us down to the floor together.

I sit down and on my lap she pushes her body harder into me, her tears and sobs each causing a tiny stab to my heart.

 _You did this._

"Shhhhh," I whisper, rubbing my hand over her hair as she sobs harder, clutching onto my shirt so tight that her knuckles are pearl white.

My throat burns and my head pounds as tears pour from my eyes onto her head that presses into my chest.

"I am so, so sorry." I continue to repeat, a mere whisper, as she continues to break in my own hands.

I hold her as tight as I can for each second that her and I cry out every emotion that has crippled us for days. Soon, her knuckles return to the color of her golden, luminous flesh that I love and she rests easier upon my body.

"Why did you so it?" She chokes out, her voice barely audible from the heavy emotion running through us.

I search my brain for a way to explain to her, and I have been searching for an explanation ever since she walked away, but I have continued to only come up with one explanation.

"Because I'm an idiot, Bella." I state.

The silence between us continues, and she holds on to me tighter.

"I'm an idiot for not believing the meaning of your unconditional love for me. I'm an idiot that not seeing that unconditional means that you love me as I am, even with my past. I'm an idiot for being too scared of the thought of you ever leaving me, so I left first. I'm an idiot for saying the things that I didn't mean and pained me the most about you and Laura. I'm an idiot for lying and convincing you that I actually believed that you leaving Laura was a mistake, all so I would push you away." I pause, wiping the tears pouring from my eyes faster and faster, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my hoodie.

"I said those things I didn't mean because it was the only way I thought I could save you." I breathe out, my head weighing heavily.

"What do you mean? I don't understand. If you didn't mean it then why would you ever say those things to me." She chokes out.

"Because I know that I don't deserve you, Bella, and once I told you about the fucked up stuff I did in the past I thought that we wouldn't be the same. By telling you about everything that happened, it made me truly realize that I wasn't good enough for you and I thought you would hate me once I told you, so I said those things to make you hate me. I was a selfish bastard and said those things so I didn't have to watch you finally see me as the monster I am, and I said those things to push you away and save you from me. You don't deserve me, Bella. You don't deserve the fucked up baggage, you don't deserve the lack of privacy my life holds, you don't deserve me having to go away all the time for films and press, you don't deserve my fucked up emotions. You don't deserve my messed up self. You deserve all the happiness in the world, an easy and beautiful life with someone who cares for you." I stated with every ounce of pain the truth held.

"But, when I looked into your eyes after I told you everything and still saw the same love you had for me days, even hours, before, I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I lost you which was the hardest thing I've ever had to stomach, but if it meant me having to leave my heart behind for you to move on and live a happy life, then I would do it in a second. And that's what I did."

Silence permeates the room; she remains pressed against me so I can't see her face. I have no idea what she's thinking.

All I'm hoping is that she _understands_ why I did what I did. She doesn't need to forgive me and I don't expect her to, I just want her to understand.

"Edward, would you say you know me?" She asks after a few minutes, her voice lacking emotion.

"I mean, I would say I know you just as well as your siblings do." I answer

"Then how the fuck would you ever think that I would want an "easy" life? How could you ever think that my love was not unconditional? How could you ever think that I actually recognized the Edward that sat on the park bench and said those things about Laura and I?" She questions flatly.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." I respond.

"When I saw you on the park bench, I recognized the man I saw, but it wasn't the man who had my heart. Who I saw Edward the actor. As much as those words hurt like a bitch and I wanted to kick you in the balls and tell you to go to hell, I knew the Edward that I loved achingly and the person saying those things were two different people. I'll admit, I was very confused about it all, but what I certainly understood was that the man who said those things wasn't you, and it was time that would tell if the man I love would reemerge. This morning, after the third day of hearing nothing from you, I began to doubt everything. I tried to remain optimistic, but questioned whether the Edward on the bench was in fact not "actor Edward", but maybe the man I fell in love with was the character and maybe the man on the bench was the real Edward. My whole world shook then, and fear settled in my bones when I began to consider the fact that maybe your love for me was just a mask." She cries harder into my chest, and my heart breaks in two when I think about her ever doubting my love for her.

"But," she starts again, "when I walked back to the bar to get a drink and saw you, I saw the look I had lost all of my sleep over out of fear of never seeing that look again. The person I saw at the bar and the person who's holding me in my arms right now is the Edward I love. _My Edward."_

 _My Edward._

 _My Edward…_

My body stiffens and I feel nothing but… bewilderment. Did she-did Bella actually say she still loves me?

 _Does she not hate me?_

 _Am I still hers just as much as she is mine?_

 _She loves me?_

"Edward?" I hear Bella ask, her body turning to she faces me. She grabs the sides of my face and looks at me with concern.

"Yo-you what? How?" I ask, my mind a fog of questions

"Edward, I still love you. Even if I wanted to hate you, I couldn't; my love for you is out of my control just as much as it is out of your control. It's not going to be easy to move on from what happened the other day, but I know that with everything we've been through that we can work it out, okay? We can work this out." She places a kiss on my forehead, and for the first time of weeks I feel the a surge of happiness.

My emotions were a hard, black rock. But as my lips reconnected with Bella's, I felt a large chunk of that black rock chip away for the first time in my life. Through the chipped part, if you look really close, you can see inside the rock, and I see something I never thought I would ever see.

I see light.

Maybe Alice was right. Bella came into my life for a reason. She was the person who would chip away at the black shell around my emotions and my life, piece by piece. As she said, it wouldn't be easy. I had to earn her trust back, show her that the person on the bench was a character that will never come back; that he was gone forever. I had to prove to her that I would never hurt her and run again as long as my life counted on it.

It won't be easy and it won't happen overnight.

But, in that tiny crack, I see light.

For the first time in my life, I saw hope.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ** _"What if this cursed hand_**

 ** _Were thicker than itself with brother's blood_**

 ** _Is there not rain enough in the sweet heaves_**

 ** _To wash it white as snow?"_**

 ** _-_ William Shakespeare, Hamlet: Act II, scene ii**

 **I hope Edward's explanation and this quote clears some stuff up about why Edward did what he did and why Bella still loves him.**

 **Leave any questions you may have in the reviews and I will be happy to answer them!**

 **xx, S**


	41. Guidance

**A/N: Hello my loves! I'm home from London but off again to the beach late tonight. If I'm productive enough, I'll write on the plane so another new chapter can come soon. Leave me a review and that will help motivate me to write!**

 **From what I heard, you guys enjoyed how the last chapter played out, so here's a continuation :)**

 **Edward's whole family comes in the next chapter and that's when all the festivities begin and you finally start to meet everyone. I'm looking forward to it!**

 **See you on the other end... xx**

* * *

I juggle my coffee and camera in one hand as I fumble through my bag in search of my room key. Since we were playing two nights in Sydney, we got to stay in a hotel after last night's first show and now we have the day off in Sydney until our call time around 5 o'clock. I swear that slipping into a bed that felt ginormous compared to our tiny ones on the bus and wrapping myself in cool, fresh sheets was one of the most euphoric moments I've ever had.

Craving that feeling once again, I step into my room after heading out for breakfast and throw myself on the bed, letting out a deep, long sigh.

After Edward and I started to come to an understanding and figure things out last night, I felt like the steel casing around my head that had been the cause of consistent headaches and emotional distress finally fell off. When I saw Edward lift his head up and look at me for the first time yesterday, both sides of my body froze: one side in fear and one side in relief. Liberation and tranquility washed over my body when I saw him and I still feel as though I was just told that everything was just a false alarm. But the other side of me told me that I need to hold my ground; the Bella a year ago would've shut the door right in Edward's face. Since I was young, I never took anybody's shit; in primary school, if anybody, even a boy who was older than me, stole my cookie or hurt my friend, I would persist and get what I wanted, even if it meant kicking a boy in year five in the shin when I was only a third year student.

And still, to this day, if anybody tries me or anybody close to me, they won't be getting away clean-handed.

But now, there seems to be a consistent pattern of me throwing away all my past beliefs and ways when Edward is involved.

I never dreamed of dating some famous movie star.

I never dreamed of getting attacked by paparazzi when leaving my celebrity husband's work.

I never dreamed of possibly getting married and having kids in my twenties.

I never dreamed of hiding my private life.

I never dreamed of any of this, yet here I am. Helplessly and secretly in love with the world's most famous actor, beginning to accept that I one day I will be with him publicly, probably married with kids.

And the most confusing part is that is the happiest I've been in my whole life.

It's like my hands are magnets, and I stuff my hands in my purse until I feel my phone and press the first number on speed dial.

"Hi sweetie, how's Sydney and work?" The sing-songy voice of my mother crosses over the line, instantly making my heart beat a bit slower in relaxation.

"It's okay." I'm surprised to hear my voice crack at the end and feel my cheeks paved with little, salty streams.

"Oh, baby, what's wrong?" My mom blurts out in worry.

"It's just, Edward and I had a… miscommunication the other day and he said things about Laura and my childhood that really hurt me so I told him to leave. He showed up out of the blue last night and explained to me that it killed him to say those things that he didn't mean and that he said them to push me away because he didn't think I could be happy with a guy like him. When he said those things, I didn't believe he actually meant it and his reasoning is ridiculous but somehow, I understand it." Telling all of this only makes me even more confused.

"What do you understand about it, sweetie?" She asks

"I don't know, I think he was absolutely insane to think that I would somehow believe he's a monster and that I would stop loving him, but I understand that for some reason that's what he thought. I understand why, because of him thinking that, he felt the need to push me away so he didn't have to deal with me breaking his heart. And I understand that he now sees that, instead, he broke mine."

Tears pool on the sheets as I look down, twiddling the pillow next to me.

"Mom, do you think I'm stupid for understanding? Do you think I'm an idiot for letting him back in after he said all those things?" Ever since our talk I've been terrified of the answer to this.

I hear my mom take a breath and the phone adjusts. I can perfectly envision her sitting down in her favorite chair out on the sun deck overlooking the beach with her green tea in her hand, as she does every morning.

"I'm going to be really honest now, Sweetie. You know your father and I's relationship; I am all about women being powerful in relationships and always, always standing your ground when the man in your life doesn't treat you the way they deserve. I think you would have to be blind to not see that you clearly inherited that trait of mine." I chuckle lightly at the end of the phone.

"Bells, Edward didn't treat you how you deserved, and that's a fact. However, even before you told your Dad and I you were with him, every time we FaceTimed or talked on the phone, I heard something different in you. You sounded carefree, worry-less, and happy, which is all that I have ever wanted for you. It's all your father, Angus, Rose, everyone wants for you. When I found out you were with Edward and I first spoke to him about his surprise at your big gallery opening, I knew that he was responsible for the happiness that I heard in your voice for the first time in your life. With everything that went on during your childhood, I never thought I would hear the happiness and tranquility in your voice, but I have heard it ever since you took that job with Edward." My mom sniffles on the other end, her voice becoming more croaky.

"And all I want you to know is that any human that can bring that much of a palpable positive change in your life cannot be let go of. You two were made for each other." I feel her smile though her tears because I feel the smile forming on my face too.

"I love you, mom." I whisper.

"I love you too. See you in two days, my love. Don't work too hard, okay?"

"Okay, mom. I love you. We'll catch up when I get home." I press end on the phone, walking out to the balcony and watching the people and cars pass under me.

After Edward and I's talk, I told him where we were staying and that he should go back to the hotel with Alice, Carlisle, and Esme. One reason for that was the fact that Alice and his parents were without a doubt shot by the jet lag, but I also still needed my distance. I believe what my mom said is true and that I'm not making a mistake by still being with him, but I also know the biggest mistake I can make is rushing back into his arms; I need a day or two to process everything's that happened the last twenty-four hours. All I want to do is go down the stairs to his room the floor below me, but every time I get the urge, I remember that he hurt me. A lot.

I must hold my ground.

Instead of heading down to Edward's room like my feet want to, I grab my guitar and follow the signs to the roof. I push open the heavy door and flip down my sunglasses as the blinding Australia sun hits my face. Nobody else is up here, so I grab one of the lounge chairs and lie back. As I'm about to strum an E, my eyes catch blonde hair on the other side of the roof. I look closer and see Carlisle, sitting in the sun with his feet up reading the newspaper. I place my guitar down and head over to him, his eye's lifting to mine in surprise and a smile on his face as I get closer.

"What immigration officer let you in?" I joke as I take a seat next to him. He folds his newspaper and looks at me with a joking grin.

"A really stupid one, I bet." We chuckle and I untie my hair, facing towards the sun and absorbing all of its energy.

"What brought you up here?" He asks, taking a sip of his double espresso.

"I don't know, if I'm being very honest. I just brought my guitar and hoped the sun and music would help clear my head." I state.

"Edward seems better." Carlisle says after a few moments. "You do too, Bella."

My stomach tightens a bit in anxiety. I knew Carlisle well, but it still felt odd to talk about the specifics of Edward and I's relationship with him.

Before I can speak, he buts in. "I don't need any details, Bella, I just want to see you both happy, and I really think you two do that for each other."

"I know what I think, but what I don't know is if it makes me a fool." I respond

"What do you think?" He asks. Something about his calm, quiet demeanor made this surprisingly easy to talk about with him.

"I think I believe Edward when he says he really didn't mean what he said to me and that someone who makes me this happy isn't worth losing."

Carlisle pauses for a moment, looking out on the horizon, his sunglasses rested gently on the bridge of his nose.

"I didn't know you before you met Edward, Bella, but I do know what happiness looks like. I know because I see a drastic lack of it in Hollywood, so when I truly see it, it's impossible to miss. Bella, when you're with Edward, and even right now despite it maybe not feeling like it, you're happy. As for Edward, all I need to say is that somehow, in a few months, you have brought our old Edward back." He twists his wedding band on his ring finger. "Sometimes, Esme and I regret ever letting Edward get into the business; after his first big paycheck and taste of fame, we watched him lose himself. As his fame grew exponentially, we feared that the happy, humble, joyous Edward wouldn't return... I remember the first time Esme saw Edward on one of those celebrity gossip TV shows. Instead of taking pictures and calling family to tell them to turn on E! News, she just sobbed. It was then that her and I really thought that we wouldn't see the old Edward ever again - This industry is a lion disguised as a lamb." He rubs his fingers along his temples.

"I'll never forget when we knew he had him back…" He smiles to himself, the relief and joy from that moment still covering his face.

"If I may ask, when was that, Carlisle?" I question tentatively, unsure of whether or not I was invading his privacy.

He pushes out a soft laugh before looking at me. "It was when I walked into his house and I saw the picture you took of him on your trial day."

My eyebrows jump in surprise - that day feels like years ago. I remember Edward had puffed out his chest like an egomaniac when he saw I was a chick and tried to pose like those oiled up Calvin Klein underwear models. When I started talking to him, though, and had a real conversation, I finally met the man that was under all the Hollywood plastic: my Edward.

I think back to taking that picture of him, his face so pensive and raw.

"Why then?" I ask, curious of what Carlisle saw in that photo that made his years of worry over Edward seize.

"Because for the first time in years I saw Edward Cullen's emotion, not a character's emotion. Edward was so tied in the industry and so devoted to his roles that he _became_ them and forgot about the real Edward Cullen. In your photo, Esme, Alice, Jasper, and I recognized Edward for the first time in a long time."

My heart tightens and swells at Carlisle's words. It's moments like these that I'm reminded of why I do what I do. But in this moment, as well, I'm reminded of why the feelings I have for this man are so deep.

I changed him.

And he changed me.

And I know that we both don't ever want to go back to the people we were before.

Edward is who I want, and Carlisle sees my certainty in my decision on my face. With that, Carlisle and I hug, and he pulls me tight almost like I'm his own daughter.

"Thank you, Carlisle." I say, before slipping away to grab my guitar and write until I the sun begins to tuck away, my fingers are berry red, and I must pack up my camera for tonight's show.

I work throughout the whole night with a smile on my face.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Yay! We got some Carlisle time; I wanted to have Bella and Carlisle's close relationship be similar to theirs in the Twilight books. We also got to get to know Renee over the phone, but don't fret, we'll meet her in person very soon! I promise!**

 **Next chapter, we're heading back to Byron Bay and everyone's meeting. Edward's meeting the parents, Bella's meeting the whole family, it's a family affair.**

 **Let's just pray it all goes well ;)**

 **PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE ME MOTIVATED TO WRITE ON THE PLANE!**

 **xx, S**


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